Relic Master: The Crystal Sword
by LexTheDarkFlameTamer
Summary: The Margrave is gone and everything was returning to normal. Now, it's spiraling downhill again and the only person who can save Anara doesn't even know what she's capable of. Welcome to a new adventure.
1. Ari

Rating: T (Teen), possible M (Mature) later on

Warnings: Blood, violence, spoilers for the series.

Pairings: Possible Raffi/OC, but nothing is set.

Description: The Margrave is dead and everything seemed perfect for a while. Now, it's spiraling downhill again and the only person who can save Anara doesn't even know what she's capable of. Welcome to a new adventure.

Author's Notes: ALRIGHTY. Wow, it's been a while since I've written anything. And now I'm back with a new fandom. Relic Master by Catherine Fisher! Or Book of the Crow. Depending on where you live. Anyways, I found this series back in October of last year and thought it was a good series then, but a few months ago, I picked it back up and wondered why I never thought it was amazing the first time. So now, I'm writing for it. I'll try to make this so even people who haven't read the series (most people I'm sure) will be able to understand it and if you don't know what something is just send me a note or review with the question and I'll get back to you with the answer. Because of the emotional explosion between Raffi and Galen in the last book, I'll try to make them have a fluffy relationship in this, but still with that tension so they'll fight a bit. And Carys will just be Carys. So…enjoy this story I threw together!

Disclaimer: The Relic Master/Book of the Crow series legally belongs to Catherine Fisher. All OCs in this story belong to me.

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1 year had passed since the Margrave was killed. Everything had gone back to normal for the most part… I was a Relic Master now. Carys was Galen's scholar. The Sekoi still traveled with us. We stayed on Sarres mostly with Tallis. Felnia wasn't crowned yet, which was bothering her so much she couldn't stand it. And, even with the Watch still out and about, it wasn't that bad. We thought it would end before long. But, recently, something has been off. Galen and I could both feel it. A dark force coming back.

The Unfinished Lands had been receding since the Margrave's death, but now they were coming back, killing the new growth of land. Stinking steam rose off the area and killed the crops of villages, poisoned the people and animals. Something was indeed wrong, we just didn't know what.

Carys had learned a lot in her short time as Galen's new scholar. She could make sense-lines now, talk to the plants somewhat. She had memorized the Litany, it was the first thing Galen had her do the day she became a scholar. She was frustrated because of the length of the book, but she did as she was told. Now she could recite any verse on command. However, she couldn't feel the force of evil taking back to Unfinished Lands.

"You feel nothing?" Galen had asked her. Carys thought hard, opening her third eye and felt, groping for anything that didn't feel right. After a moment of meditating, she shook her head with a shrug.

"Nothing but the plants and animals," she responded and Galen was angry, said she needed to practice more. At that point, the feeling was minor and it didn't pose much of a threat, but now it was huge, covering everything in a dark hazy mist and clouding our senses. In Sarres, the darkness couldn't reach the perfect skies and apple orchards so we could think clearly, but anywhere outside of the haven was hell. The third time Galen and I sensed it, we could tell it was getting bigger so we decided to leave Sarres for a week. Carys tagged along as well as the Sekoi, claiming it was bored and needed an adventure.

So now we were riding inside a cart, drawn by a horse Carys had bargained off of a farmwoman. The cart was old, falling apart; we had found it in an old farm field that was long overgrown. It was obvious it hadn't been used in years, but after pulling the weeds off of it, we found it was still functional. So we had hitched the horse up to the reins and the Sekoi was driving it. Carys was dozing in the corner, her head leaned against the rotten wood planks of the wall. Galen sat across from me, staring at the floor hard and when I felt for his mind, I couldn't find it.

I pulled the worn blue jacket off my body and sat it on the bench. The humid mist amplified the heat of summer and I was sweating profusely, the jacket didn't help. I fumbled the first two buttons of my shirt open and wiped at the drops of sweat running down my neck.

We were heading for the Unfinished Lands. I had begged Galen not to go, we didn't know enough about what we were going up against to walk blindly into it, but he wouldn't have it. He said I didn't have to go since I was no longer his scholar, but I wanted to, if not only to protect him, Carys, and the Sekoi.

I leaned back on the bench with a heavy sigh and closed my eyes. I was tired from the lack of sleep I had been suffering from since we began this journey. The cart creaked and jostled and shook and woke me out of any twinge of sleep I managed to fall into constantly and I prayed for just an hour's rest. I relaxed against the wall and let my mind go blank and within minutes, I was asleep. Or at least it felt like it for a moment.

I found myself in a place I didn't know. It was a room filled with furniture, dark, hot. There were dirty windows in the walls and I could dimly see a forest out of one. An oddly white house with a red roof was out the other. A Maker house, I could tell. The room smelled of rotten wood and I took several steps between the furniture, swatting at cobwebs. The couches and chairs were upholstered, but dusty and they hadn't been touched in a while.

I made my way over to the window and peered out at the Maker house. The door swung open and I gasped, ducking from the window. I sunk to the dirty floor and replayed the image in my mind. The girl didn't look normal, her hair was white and the tips were colored all the shades of the rainbow. Her skin was pale, eyes the brightest blue I had ever seen. Her clothing wasn't normal either. She had worn a white t-shirt with something written on the front that I couldn't read and blue pants that were skin tight. Also some sort of necklace.

Hesitantly, I looked back over the sill and the girl was gone, the door closed. I gave a sigh of relief, but that vanished when light flooded the room as the door in the corner was swung open. I could only make out a silhouette, but I was almost sure it was the girl. My eyes adjusted to the light and I found it was indeed her, but she dismissed my presence or she didn't see me. She made a disgusted sound as she walked into a cobweb and peeled the sticky strands from her arms and hair and turned to a table that was leaned against the wall. There were boxes piled on top of it made out of some type of material I didn't recognize.

The girl tugged the flaps on top back and shuffled through it, gasping and stumbling when a few moths flew out of it. I briefly flashed back to the time in the cathedral when I opened that chest full of the moths that choked me and Galen and I shivered. The girl pulled out several dusty books and sat them on the table, but she didn't seem to find what she was looking for. Finally, she gave up, put the books back into the box, and carried the entire thing out of the room. I did happen to notice one book tumbled from the mass and clattered on the wooden floor, but she didn't notice and shut the door behind her.

After I was sure she was gone, I maneuvered over to the table and picked up the purple book that had fallen and read the gold calligraphy print on the front, it read "For Emily". I stared at it for a long moment and could feel myself dragging back to consciousness, away from the dark room.

I woke in the cart with a gasp and stared across to the other side. Galen wasn't meditating anymore and my scuffling had woken Carys, who murmured my name sleepily as she looked at me.

"Where did you get that book?" Galen glared at me and I looked down at my lap. There, I clutched the tattered purple book entitled For Emily. I stared at it in astonishment, wondering how it had become real.

"I just dreamt about finding it…" I muttered and Galen snatched it out of my hands.

"It must have something to do with the force that's been haunting the land lately. You know dreams mean something," he said and ran his fingers over the front. The book was old; the edges were white and worn from use. Then he flipped it open.

Carys huddled close to see and I moved next to Galen as well. The book was filled with pieces of paper glued to its pages that held intricate pictures. It was too realistic to be paintings and I couldn't understand what could have been used to make them. Maybe it was a relic that had been the Makers'. In the first picture, there were 7 people. In the back were two women, one had brown hair, the other red. Beside them stood three men, a brunette and the other two with black hair. One had a clipped beard. Two children stood in front of the women, a girl around 6 or 7 and a toddler, a boy that was 2 or 3, who clutched at the red-haired woman's green dress.

Carys pointed at the picture.

"Isn't that the Makers? They look so…_young_," she murmured. Galen nodded and touched the picture, it was glossy and slick.

"I don't know who the children are, but yes, those are the Makers," then he turned to me, "Where did you find this?"

"In a dream."

"I know, but where were you in the dream? Tell me _everything_!" he growled. I flinched, but nodded.

"I was in a dark room. It had windows and I could see a forest and a Maker house. Then a girl came out of the house and into the room, but she didn't see me. She looked through a box of books and she dropped that one. I just picked it up," I said quietly.

Galen took a moment to process the information, then asked, "What did she look like?"

"She wasn't a keeper, she wore a necklace, but it wasn't awenbeads. But she wasn't Watch either. Her hair was white and the ends where all the colors you could think of," I explained, keeping the image of the girl in my head, "And her eyes where the brightest blue, like the sky. Her clothes were just a white shirt with something written on the front and blue trousers," I was leaving out details, but at that point, I didn't care. I was still tired and I really didn't want to say everything.

Galen pondered this for a while, then opened the book again and looked at the next picture. Despite not wanting to talk, I did want to see the other pictures. The next one was smaller than the first; a black heart marked the paper beneath it. The picture was the woman with red hair and the man with the black beard; Therris and Kest. Kest had an arm thrown around her shoulders and had pulled her close. They didn't wear the clothing you always see them in. Therris wore a shirt that only covered one shoulder, it had a painting of a daisy on the front, and a long white skirt printed with tiny orange flowers. Kest had a white button up long sleeve shirt and black trousers.

They were both smiling; Therris looked like she was laughing. Behind them was a beach and the sun was setting, creating a beautiful wash of orange and red over the horizon. Carys frowned at the picture all together.

"I didn't know Therris and Kest were lovers," she said. Galen was frowning hard.

"They weren't," he growled. "They didn't even get along. I don't know why they were that friendly in this picture." Galen turned the page and there was a picture of the two children from the first. They appeared to be a little older now. The girl was a young teenager, 14 or so, and the boy was 9 or 10. The picture beside it was another of them, even older, and then Galen pointed at the young man.

"That's…Halen," he frowned, then looked at me, "Raffi, you found a book directly from the Makers!"

:-:-:-:-:-:-:

"Hey, Ari," Mom poked her head into my room from the door, then pushed it open with her foot. She carried the cardboard box I had fetched from the shed. "Can I come in?" I looked up from my computer and grinned.

"You're already in," I said. She rolled her eyes and sat the box down beside the bed.

"So I am. The rest of the books in here are you, Acura, and the girls' old stuff from when you were little. I don't think you need them, but if you would sort them for me, it'd be a big help. Just keep whatever you think would be good for the new baby," she smiled at me and gave her stomach a gentle pat. She was only a month along, her stomach wasn't big yet. If you just threw her a glance, you could never tell. I closed the picture I was working on and turned the computer off, spun around in the chair and hauled the box over.

"I'll look through it," I said. In the top of the box, I could make out the titles of the top two books; "Goodnight Moon" and a Spongebob Sqaurepants coloring book that had crayon scribbles all over the front. Mom nodded.

"Alright, well, I'll leave you to it. Dinner will be ready in about 15 minutes," she stepped out of the room and the door clicked shut. I pulled out the board book and coloring book and sat them on my bed. Where they had been were a few other books made for 3 year olds. A few were in rough condition and I threw them away, but I kept the Goodnight Moon book and a couple others. Pressed against the side was a chocolate leather bound journal. It had "Anara" written across the front in a fancy gold font.

I picked it up and looked it over. The leather was worn and dirty from constant use and the pages were yellowed and curled, some were even dog-eared. There was a torn red ribbon hanging out of the center of the book, marking a special page. I flipped it open to the section and stared at a strange drawing on the page. It resembled a lock and around it, 7 circles were drawn, each different in texture and size. Under the drawing, it said "Tap each moon to unlock the portal".

At this, I frowned. I had no clue what this was, what the "portal" was. But, as I shouldn't have, I followed the instructions and touched all the drawings of the circles, or moons as it referred to them as. The lock gave off a blindly light and I clutched the journal so I wouldn't drop it. Then I was in a dark space with no floor or doors, no windows or roof. Just darkness and I could feel nothing, but air.

:-:-:-:-:-:-:

We stopped in a valley for the night. The Sekoi, having been driving the cart, hadn't heard of the Maker book and was happy when Galen explained what had happened concerning it.

"Seems like a miracle… Could it be a sign the Makers are coming back?" it said thoughtfully as it rubbed it's tribe mark. Galen didn't respond so Carys did.

"I suppose it could be, but considering the timing of this; how the Unfinished Lands are being turned back again… I doubt this means they're coming back," she sighed heavily and leaned against the rock wall behind her. The fire popped and crackled as it danced in the breeze, illuminating our figures, our shadows flickering on the walls.

I was trying hard to sleep to no avail. I had a horrible headache and I was sweating. I briefly wondered if I was becoming ill. I wiped my forehead and flung drops of sweat down from my hair.

"What about the girl? Who was she? I've never seen anyone like her before," I pondered, "Was…she one of the Makers or something?" Galen glared after me.

"No. None of the Makers had white and rainbow hair."

"She could have dyed it," Carys suggested, flipping a lock of brown hair from her eyes.

"True," Galen muttered. He pulled the pack over and rummaged inside before pulling out the relic bag. He grabbed the Maker book from inside and flipped it open again. It turned open to a new group of people, the blonde girl who had been beside Halen in a lot of pictures. Beside her was a tall man with brown hair. The woman was dressed in a lovely white dress and veil that covered her eyes and she held a bouquet of flowers. Under the portrait, "Nikki & Jack" was scribbled in black.

"It seems to follow Halen and this girl…Nikki, growing up. There's pictures of them as children and as adults," Galen said and turned the page. On the next was a teenage girl with dirty blonde hair. She wasn't Nikki; her eyes were a sapphire blue like the girl's in my dream and she was older than her. There was no writing under it.

The next one showed three young men; two brunettes and a blonde who shared the same blue eyes. It was entitled "Tom, Izera, & Daniel". The next picture made Galen point at it and ask if it was the girl I saw. And indeed it was.

The girl was younger in this picture, posing daintily for it. Her hair was incredibly long, pulled back in a loose ponytail. It had been shorter in my dream. Her blue eyes shown like she was looking right at me. Unfortunately, there was no name beneath the image.

"That's defiantly her," I said.

Then a bright yellow flame shot up behind the treetops and there was a sharp banging noise.

"Watchflare!" Carys hissed and staggered to her feet. Galen and the Sekoi followed and watched as the flare erupted in sparks across the sky. Now we could hear yelling, the sounds of crossbows shooting; it broke the silence of the night.

"What is it?" I stared in horror. Haltingly, I flung several sense-lines in the direction of the commotion. There was a Watchtower on the other side of the forest and it was in total chaos. Watchmen ran around on horses, razorhounds barked. They were searching for something. Something that was barreling between the trees heading straight for us.

"A prisoner must have escaped," Galen muttered, "Whatever it is, it's coming here." I could feel Galen throwing sense-lines and I followed, but the form didn't register as anything more than a burning force of panic and fury that singed the sense-lines and amplified the pain behind my eyes. I cried out and Galen winced.

Then the figure burst from the forest into the field, nothing more than a mottled shadow flecked by moonlight. The wind lapped the flames and a flourish of light washed over the individual. A girl. The girl with white and rainbow hair.

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Three razorhounds followed, snarling and snapping at the girl's ankles. She yelled in panic and pulled something from her pocket. It was a weird looking object that I couldn't make sense of until the fire light it up and I realized it was a gun.

Guns were reserved for people high up in the Watch; the ones who wore the gold insignia. Anyone else who was found owning one had it confiscated and they were taken to a Watchtower, never to be seen again. But the girl was not with the Watch. After all, it was their hounds that were after her.

A gunshot echoed through the valley and a razorhound howled, tumbling into the grass and smearing blood everywhere. Two more gunshots. Two more hounds fell and then the girl became aware of our presence. Her blue eyes widened and she aimed the gun directly at Galen, her finger over the trigger.

"No!" I yelled and jumped in front of him. Galen must have recognized the weapon and put his hands up, showing he was unarmed.

"We won't hurt you," he said calmingly. The girl gritted her teeth in an almost animalistic snarl.

"Yeah, well, you aren't supposed to trust strangers," she said. Her voice was dark, angry. She was serious. I let a weak sense-line crept over to her, but as soon as it entered her mind, it gave me an almost electric shock and I fell to my knees in agony. She turned the gun on me and I choked.

"Stay where you are!" she spat. In the brief second I felt her mind, I sensed fear, panic, and terror. Anger and confusion. She probably had no clue what to do, but threaten everyone that came in her path.

The yelling of the Watchmen were getting closer. They would be upon us all in seconds. Galen outstretched a hand.

"Come with us. They'll execute you if they catch you. We can protect you," he said desperately. She was what we had to work with right now. If she was killed, we would have nothing. And it was a Keeper's job to protect the innocent.

The girl was contemplating the offer when a bolt shattered through the leaves over her head and stabbed into the ground. Her eyes widened in horror and she nodded.

"Alright, fine, whatever!" she said exasperatingly and ran forward, but she kept the gun in her hand. It was menacing and the thought of her shooting one of us left me feeling numb. Carys threw the pack over her shoulder and began to climb into the cart, but Galen pulled her back.

"They'll just follow the tracks! We have to run!" he snapped.

We took off across the downs, through the wet grass. Howls of the razorhounds still echoed off the valley walls and Watchflares lit up the sky far behind, but I don't think they realized we were this far away. The land was beginning to slant as we clambered up the side out of the gorge.

We didn't stop running until we were sure they wouldn't find us. My lungs were on fire and we were all rasping for air. Galen was limping badly and nearly collapsed against a tree, coughing. Carys sat beside him, but when she tried to touch him, he smacked at her hands.

The area we were in was dark and stank of wood decay. It was a massive cluster of tangled limbs and roots that curled up strangely into trees themselves. The trunk were thick, but hollowed out and fat white woodgrubs had burrowed into the bark, eating away at it slowly. The Sekoi plopped down beside Galen, panting, loosening it's jacket.

The girl was catching her breath across the clearing; she leaned against a tree wiping her forehead. The gun was still out and I wished she would at least put it away. She straightened herself up and the stiff expression on her face came back; she looked angry again.

"Who are you people? And where am I?" she hissed quietly. Galen's breathing had mostly returned to normal even though he still had to breathe hard to speak.

"First things first, who are you?" he glared at her. The girl put her hands on her hips.

"I asked first," she said stubbornly.

"Galen Harn," Galen sighed heavily, "My scholar, Carys Arrin. Raffael Morel, and the Sekoi."

She nodded and sank down to the forest floor.

"Name's Ariana Murray. My friends call me Ari," she said simply and pushed the gun into her pocket, but I could tell she wanted to keep it within reach should she need it again.

Ari. I could finally put a name to that face. I looked her over. She was filthy, dirt and soot was smeared across her body and her shirt was ripped open across her shoulder, partnered with a bloody gash where I would assume a razorhound had bitten or clawed her. She looked awful, but she didn't seem to mind.

Galen glanced at Ari then at Carys.

"Carys, get the ointment out of the pack for her," he said. Carys nodded and swung the pack onto the ground. She pulled the string loose and tugged a small round pot out of it, handing it to Ari.

"Put some of this on your wounds. It'll feel better," she offered. Ari nodded and opened the pot. She dug out some of the thick grey cream and rubbed it over the slice in her shoulder and the cuts that littered her arms and face. It wasn't until she pulled the leg of her trousers up that I saw an arrow sticking out of it, wedged in deep. She groaned a bit.

"Dear God," the Sekoi mewed at the sight of the injury and Ari shot it a playful grin.

"Yeah, I may have good aim, but I'm not that agile," she joked and grabbed the arrow's shaft and jerked it out of her leg with a painful gasping cry. She tossed the bloody object over the bushes and rubbed some of the ointment on the gash.

Carys took the pot back and shoved it back into the bag. "We really need to sleep. The Watch will have most likely stopped looking by now," she said. Ari looked up curiously.

"The Watch? Is that what those people are called? Cause they're a bunch of _idiots_," she muttered fiercely.

"You have no idea who they are? Do you even know _where_ you are?" Galen stared at her in disbelief. Ari shrugged and shook her head, the rainbow locks of hair blurring into a mess of color.

"Well...you're on Anara," I said finally with a smile. Ari frowned.

"Another planet?" she stared.

"Where are you from, girl?" Galen asked.

"Earth," Ari said simply, "I am from Earth.

…wait, what did she just say?


	2. Revelation

Rating: T (Teen)

Warnings: Blood and violence.

Pairings: None

Author's Notes: Well…here's another chapter in The Crystal Sword. Sorry for taking so long (not that anyone reads this), but I was grounded. Again. *sigh* Also, I didn't post this story just to get reviews, but the lack of, well…anything really discouraged any motivation I had to write more. I'm not asking for a ton of reviews, but some sort of communication just to prove someone is reading this would be nice (example, favorite, author watch, etc.). Thanks for reading! :)

Disclaimer: The Relic Master/Book of the Crow series legally belongs to Catherine Fisher. All OCs in this story belong to me.

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"Earth?" Galen questioned, astonished. Ari nodded with a shrug.

"It's funny your planet is called Anara. That's my family's original last name," she said.

"Earth is the planet of the Makers! How did you get here?" Galen stood up abruptly and stormed around the clearing, banging his staff in the wet mud.

Ari watched him cautiously and responded, "I don't know. I opened this journal and it brought me here." She slipped a small brown book from her pocket. Galen limped over and grabbed for it, but she yanked it away from him.

"Hey, it's mine! Screw off!" she snapped at him and Galen retracted, surprised, then he looked furious. He lifted his stick to hit her and Carys gasped. Ari pulled the gun from her pocket fast and lifted it, then a gunshot rang out. Galen made a startled noise and stumbled, collapsing to his side.

"Galen!" I jumped up, horrified. Did she really…just shoot him? Galen clutched his leg and winced with a groan; blood gushed between his fingers. He shivered violently and Carys and the Sekoi slipped down beside him.

Ari just held the gun pointed at him, looking emotionless. I glared at her.

"Why did you do that?!" I yelled. Ari returned the stare, her blue eyes piercing frighteningly. I felt Galen fling a mind-flare at Ari, but it exploded in midair and pain flooded my head. All three of us winced and I'm sure the Sekoi felt it as well. _Why can't any of us touch her? It just causes pain… Is it because she's from Earth?_

"I'll give this," Ari waved the book, "when you learn to ask nicely instead of grabbing for it." Galen snarled angrily and glared at her. Ari just grinned and I looked between them, appalled. "And maybe, if you're nice, I'll treat that wound too." Galen staggered to his feet, unable to put weight on his injured leg.

"Just give me the book!" he spat and Ari leaned against the tree nonchalantly.

"What's the magic word?" she said teasingly. Galen reached for it again, but she moved it out of his reach. He huffed, angry, then sighed.

"Please," he muttered forcefully. Ari smirked and handed the book to him. Carys tugged at Galen's sleeve, telling him he needed to sit down. For once, he listened and slid down to the ground against a tree, groaning quietly at the pain. I could feel it, bouncing from the wound in waves. How the keeper didn't show any emotion, I would never know.

As he tugged the leather strap from the buckle that held the book closed, Ari knelt by his side and lifted his pants leg. He jerked away, alarmed and Carys stood up fast.

"What're you doing?" he snapped. Ari just shrugged and reached for the bloody clothe again.

"Keeping my end of the deal. You ask nicely and I give you the book and treat your wound," she explained. I could tell Galen was watching her out of the corner of his eye, but he returned to the book.

"How did a book take you from Earth to here?" he asked.

"I don't know. There was a drawing on a page, 74 I think? It said to tap all the circles in the drawing and it would 'open the portal', or something," Ari shrugged. She lifted pants leg and examined the wound. She reached into her pocket and the sense-lines wavered when she pulled out a small red and silver object that jingled softly as she moved it.

"What's that?" I bent beside her.

"Survivor's knife," Ari said as she waved the item. She pushed a finger into the side and flipped up a pointed piece.

"Doesn't really look like a knife…" I muttered.

"It's more than a knife. It's just about anything you'd need to, well, survive," she laughed and bent closer to Galen's injury, looking up at him intently. "This is going to hurt, but I have to get the bullet out." Galen just waved her off passively, trying to find the page she described.

Ari dug the pointed thing into his flesh and he gasped in pain. That was probably the most emotion, minus anger, that I'd ever seen from Galen. She kept pushing the thing in and I had to look away. Hearing Galen's uncomfortable noises and seeing her do this was making me sick, but just looking away didn't help much; I could still feel the echoes of his pain.

Ari twisted the pick and Galen shifted. She pulled sideways and the bullet fell out. She sat back and rubbed her tool on her shirt. Carys pulled the pot of ointment out of the pack again and handed it to her. Ari rubbed some of the cream on the wound, then looked at Galen.

"You'll need to bandage that with something or it'll get infected," she said, but Galen wasn't listening. He had found the page and splayed it open on his lap.

"This is the page?"

"Yes."

I scooted closer to look over his shoulder, pressing against the Sekoi's bony shoulder. On the page was a charcoal drawing of a key hole and the 7 moons. Underneath it read "Tap all the moons to open the portal." As soon as I read the words, a surge of power washed over me and I shivered. Galen and Carys felt it too.

"It's a Relic!" Carys exclaimed. Galen glanced at Ari.

"Tell me about yourself. About your family. Everything. We need to know." He told her.

Ari took a step back. "Hey, look, I didn't barge in here asking for your personal information! Don't start asking for mine! Besides, what does it matter anyways? I'm nothing special." Galen stumbled up, Carys grabbing his sleeve to stabilize him.

"You're special enough for Raffi to dream about you," he snapped, "and with what we've been feeling lately, it has to mean something."

Ari sighed heavily. "Fine. I'll tell you what I know. But, it's nothing much. I don't know much about my family and history more than it's just a bunch of jealousy and drama. My mom was the only one that had any sense."

Galen thought for a moment, then asked, "What's her name?"

"Nikki Murray. Her maiden name was Anara, like I said."

Galen looked her over, then fumbled through the pack and pulled out the Maker book.

"Is your father's name Jack?" Ari nodded.

"How did you know?" Galen ignored the question and looked her in the eyes.

"You're coming with us. There may be things you don't know."

:-:-:-:-:-:-:ARI'S P.O.V. :-:-:-:-:-:-:

I swear to God, the muggy fog was choking me. Why was I even following them? I don't know them!

I had fallen to back of their group, the older man, Galen I think, leading the way. He was limping really badly, thanks to me, and the girl, Carys, was having to hold him up. The other person—er, thing, whatever it was, the Sekoi, was walking on the other side of Galen in case he needed extra support (although he was too stubborn to ask for it).

Then there was the boy, Raffael. He was incredibly thin and fairly tall, tangled light brown hair about the color of my own when it wasn't dyed, maybe a bit darker. And his eyes were a piercing green that seemed unnaturally bright. I asked him if he wore contacts, but he just got confused. His clothing was odd. Actually, all of their clothing was odd. It looked like something out of the medieval era.

"So…" I began as I jogged across the mucky ground up to Raffael, nearly falling and catching my balance very ungracefully. Thankfully, he didn't seem to notice. He looked over at me. His face was narrow with expressive eyes, cut into by the jagged blades of brown hair that fell to his shoulders. I wouldn't say he was conventionally handsome, but he wasn't at all hard to look at.

"Anara…is another planet. And I'm on it," I sounded stupid, like I was talking more to myself. "Why was it so amazing that I was from Earth though?"

Raffael laughed. "Earth is the planet of the Makers. Of course we'd be surprised!" Then he stopped and turned to me; he looked serious. "Do you happen to know anyone named Flain?" I stared at my shoes for a minute, trying to remember, then gave up.

"Not that I know of." Raffael looked crestfallen. "Who is he…or she?" Flain sounded like a girl's name too, so whatever.

"He's one of the Makers!" Raffael looked accusingly of me. I frowned.

"Well, I don't know who the 'Makers' are!" I said. Everyone seemed to stop and look at me.

"You're from their planet, yet you've never heard of them. How?" Galen said fiercely. I just shrugged and stuffed my hands in my pockets, signaling the conversation was over. After a moment, I spoke quietly to Raffael.

"So your name is Raffael, right?"

"Yeah. Raffi for short," he said without looking up.

"Oh. Well…nice to meet you, I suppose," and I left it at that. A sweet smell suddenly hit my nose. Fruit and fresh water. Not the horrible fog. Then, just as the thought crossed my mind, the fog cleared and revealed a bright green pasture, dotted with tree and a long trickling river. It was breathtaking, like one of those professionally taken pictures you see on cards.

"Where are we?" I spoke aloud in awe. Raffi smiled at me.

"Welcome to Sarres, Ari!" he exclaimed. He suddenly seemed so happy. Galen swatted Carys and the Sekoi away and gripped his stick hard to support himself.

"I'm going to go have a word with Tallis. Raffi, I'm putting you in charge of Ari," he said firmly.

"I don't need a babysitter," I retorted. Galen glared at me, but limped away. Carys and the cat-like creature followed hurriedly, obviously not wanting him to get too far by himself. Raffi turned to me and folded his arms and looked me over. I tilted my head.

"What?"

"I have…so many questions to ask you," he said with a smile. I grinned.

"Well, as long as you don't start making demands like what's-his-face did, I'll be happy to answer them."

:-:-:-:-:-:-:

Raffi had led me to a massive mansion-like house. The lawns were nicely cut out front with a beautiful fountain. The doors were propped open, dim light pouring into the main room. Everything was made of marble.

There were a couple of sofas near the right wall and a rug and a table, a fireplace in front which was stoked with charred logs. In the corner, there was a long table with a group of chairs surrounding it, which I assumed was the dining area. Everyone had stopped in the vicinity around the fireplace.

Tallis turned out to be a pretty woman in her 20s with long black hair pulled back in a braid. She wore a long pink dress that reminded me of something from the Japanese culture. The sleeves were over-sized and covered her hands unless she held them up and the bottom fell all the way to her feet. I could see she wore sandals beneath it.

She sported a simple gold chain necklace with a green jewel on the end and her ears were pierced with gold studs; simple, but elegant. Overall, she was gorgeous. She was sitting beside Galen, dressing his wound with strips of cloth.

"So that's how we met her," Galen recited to her. Tallis gave a dazzling smile.

"Interesting!" then she turned to me, "So you don't actually know about the Makers? Strange. So what is Earth like?" she asked. I shrugged nonchalantly.

"Horrible." That one word seemed to stun everyone. Raffi was the one to break the silence.

"Earth is supposed to be a paradise, a sanctuary. Why would it be horrible?" I laughed harshly.

"Oh please! Gang fights, criminals running the streets, not enough jobs, not to mention horrible government! I'd pay to live anywhere else!" I said.

"The Book of the Makers speaks of Earth being a perfect haven," Galen snapped.

"Well, no, it's not," I frowned sharply and looked into the flames curling in the fire pit, "It's horrible. You people wouldn't last a day there."

There was a long stillness that fell over the room and everyone was quiet for a long time.

"You need to tell us about your family. You said there was a lot of drama in your family… What happened?" Galen asked and eased his leg from Tallis' lap. The black-haired woman sat the excess bandages on the coffee table.

"Well," I began, "I don't know all of it. My mom refuses to tell me the details. But, I do know my grandfather did something horrible and it totally ruined my mom's relationship with him. Like I said, I don't know what happened, but it also turned her against my grandmother. She was always unhappy."

Galen nodded, "Do you know your grandfather's name?"

"Henry I think. Henry Anara. We don't actually know what happened to him; he disappeared a long time ago, when I was still a kid. My uncles and aunt had a funeral for him after they assumed he wasn't going to turn up, but my mom didn't go. She just cried that day. I think she regretted not talking to him for so long, then never getting to see him again."

Galen thought for a moment, then leaned back on the sofa with a sigh. He pulled my journal from his coat pocket and turned the pages.

"Your mother, Nikki, is mentioned in a book Raffi found. Along with the Makers when they were younger. So at some point, your family had interactions with them. What confuses me is the fact that the Makers lived here millions of years ago and you're only, what, 15 or 16?" he glanced at me.

"18," I grinned, "I'm just short."

"18, right," he muttered and studied the page.

"Well…maybe my mom would know something about Anara. I mean, if she talked to or knew your Makers, she might know something about them that could be useful," I muttered. "If you follow the instructions on the page again like I did, maybe it will transport us to Earth or something."

Galen exchanged a glance with me, then Raffi. Tallis spoke up.

"That sounds like a good idea. Ari is obviously accustomed to life on Earth so she could probably get you through in one piece if it's as horrible as she says it is."

Galen nodded and closed the book.

"But, not tonight. Tomorrow at dawn. We all need a good night's rest," he said then glared at me, "and some of us need time to heal."

I just stuck my tongue out at him and he rolled his eyes, walking off up the spiraling staircase that lead upstairs. Tallis stood up, said goodnight and followed suit. Carys and the Sekoi talked to me for a while before heading off as well.

Raffi and I relaxed by the fire for a while and he explained everything to me. It was amazing. The Watch, the Order, the Margrave, and the fight in the Pits of Maar. How he had been kidnapped and held against his will there with the dragon-jackal creature. He and the rest had been through everything and survived.

"Now, I somewhat regretted being so cruel to Galen," I said with a crooked smile. Raffi just laughed.

"Well, Galen needs someone to stand up to him every now and then."

Afterwards, Raffi showed me a vacant room upstairs. It was finally furnished with marble like the rest of the house. It had a small bed in the corner under a window and a vanity across the room. It wasn't all that fancy, but it was pleasant. Raffi told me I could stay there the night.

"Thanks. For everything," I smiled at him as we stood in the doorway. Raffi grinned.

"No problem. It's amazing to have you here." We said good night and I undressed, laying my clothing out on the vanity for the next morning. I was only in my bra and underwear when I sat on the bed.

Yeah…it was hard to comprehend. There's another planet somewhere out in the universe where other people live. Other humans, not as technologically advanced as the people on Earth, but they knew magic. Real magic. And there were good people there, faithful to their religion.

Galen and Tallis seem good for each other, as husband and wife. I can sort of sense it. The cruel man and his loving voice of reason. They contradict each other, but it works somehow (although how she would put up with him in a relationship is beyond me).

Carys and the Sekoi are good friends and they seem to be closer to each other than the rest. They're sort of the friends that love to hate each other, fighting a lot, but still liking one another.

And then there's Raffi. I don't know what to make of him yet. He's beyond nice and polite and he's so optimistic (usually). And he cares about me even though he's only known me for a day. I could get used to having a friend like him.

I pulled the curtains closed, blocking out the faint moonlight. I laid down on the bed and pulled the thin sheet over my body; it felt cold against my bare skin. The pillow was stuffed with feathers and it prickled my face, but I tried to ignore it. The thought of tomorrow was daunting. My family is probably worried about me.

And totally burst my mom's bubble. She'll have to tell me what has happened in my family; what happened involving my grandparents. I closed my eyes and pressed my nose against the fabric of the pillow.

But, that's tomorrow.


	3. Question

Rating: T (Teen)

Warnings: Spoilers for the series, half-naked Ari and possibly perverted Raffi. XD

Pairings: Maybe some fluffy Ari/Raffi? Don't expect this to be a love-at-first-sight thing though!

Author's Notes: I'd like to personally thank Dragonsong57 for being my first reviewer and a fellow fan of Relic Master. :) That review really made me happy and spurred me on to write chapter 3. I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as the other two

My music choice while writing this? "September" by The Living Tombstone. Strange music choice? Yes. Did it help my writing this chapter? YES.

Disclaimer: The Relic Master/Book of the Crow series legally belongs to Catherine Fisher. All OCs in this story belong to me.

:-:-:-:-:-:-:

"Ariiii…" I snorted and rolled over.

"Ari."

"5 more minutes…"

"Ari!" I jerked and sat up abruptly, startled, and came face to face with Raffi. I glared at him.

"What?" I asked sternly. He just smiled at me.

"It's time to get up. We have to go to Earth today, remember?" he said. All of the last day's memories came rushing back to me and I groaned. God, last night I would have done anything to go back home, but now I would rather just crawl back to that feather-prickly pillow and go back to sleep.

"Right," I muttered. Raffi looked confused suddenly. I blinked.

"What now?"

"What are you wearing?" Puzzled, I glanced down. I was still in my bra and underwear.

"Oh my God!" I gasped and pulled the blankets up to my chest, "Get out!" Raffi stared, then backed up.

"Uh, okay…sorry," but I knew he was smiling as he left. Maybe Anara boys aren't much different than Earth boys; can't take their eyes off of your tits. When I was sure he was gone, I clambered out of the bed and pulled my clothes on.

When I made my way downstairs, I was a bit surprised to find everyone already up and about. Galen and Tallis were talking in front of the fireplace. Carys and the Sekoi were listening to them in silence.

And there was a new person there; a little girl with short brown hair. She wore a pretty yellow dress that stopped at her knees. It was decorated with small beads. She had numerous bracelets and necklaces on, gold and silver and bronze. Very fancy, but a bit of an over-kill. She looked at me and smiled.

"Hi!"

"Er, hello," I said awkwardly. She jumped up and ran over to me. I noticed Raffi watching us from a chair at the table.

"I'm Felnia," the little girl said cheerfully. I tried to smile back at her; children were never my strong point.

"I'm Ari," and then it was over. Felnia was done talking and already running back to the sofa to squeeze in between Galen and Tallis. Raffi walked up beside me.

"I see you met Felnia."

"Stalker," I said jokingly. Raffi laughed.

"It's hard not to 'stalk' someone when you can feel their minds whenever their near," he said.

"You'll have to teach me some of that magic stuff," I teased. Raffi rolled his eyes.

"I can only teach it to my own scholar, but then again, I don't have one; yet anyways." I shrugged.

"Maybe I'll get lucky," I grinned at him and left him standing there, going over to where the commotion was.

"Good morning, Ari," Tallis greeted happily, adjusting Felnia on her lap. No one else made a sound.

"Mornin'. So…what's our plan for this?" I asked. Galen grabbed the journal off the table.

"We open the portal to Earth and find your mother. Hopefully, she'll know something about the Makers and possibly what's happening here," he explained. I wanted to say that I doubted it, but I didn't feel like getting into an argument. This wasn't my problem and if I can't help, I wasn't going to get involved.

"Alright. When?"

"Now. We were waiting for you to get out of bed," he stood up. I frowned, but said nothing in return.

Everyone gathered around; Raffi, Carys, the Sekoi, and Galen. Tallis and Felnia stayed back so I figured they wouldn't be joining us.

"Is everyone ready?" Galen queried. No one objected so he opened the journal to the page with the ribbon in it. I watched as he tapped the book and light flashed up; he shielded his eyes immediately. It seemed brighter this time, then I realized it was engulfing all of us (minus Tallis and Felnia who had retreated to the stairs in alarm), curling into a giant globe of white light.

:-:-:-:-:-:-: RAFFI'S P.O.V. :-:-:-:-:-:-:

The feeling of passing through the portal was similar to that of when the Margrave pulled me through the dreamworld to the Pits of Maar. There wasn't anything there to hold me up and I felt like I was falling. I could feel wind brushing against my skin hard, so much I couldn't open my eyes.

But, you know anything that falls will hit something at some point. And I did. I hit the ground hard and fell backwards, onto my back. I felt something soft under me. I opened my eyes and stared up at whiteness. As my vision cleared, I realized it was the ceiling.

I heard shuffling beside me and Ari was standing up.

"Good to be back in my old room," she said with a quiet laugh. I hesitantly sat up. The room was strange looking. The walls were a light cream color, like sand, and there was a dresser in the corner, several of the drawers hanging open. There was a wooden box in the other corner with fluffy multi-colored pillows on it and stuffed animals; dogs, cats, and horses.

The soft thing I landed on turned out to be a huge rug that covered the entire floor of the room. It was a light pink color.

I took note that everyone had actually landed on the floor. Carys groaned and helped the Sekoi stand. Galen staggered to his feet, gazing around.

"Are you sure we are in the right place?" he asked.

"Yes, this is my room," Ari said. Carys helped me to my feet as Ari opened the door and walked out into a hallway. The walls were a sky blue color with more rug on the floor. Other doors lined the walls, but Ari continued down the length of the hallway where an open doorway was. I unfurled a sense-line past her and through the doorway. I could sense someone in there, a woman.

"Mom?" Ari called just as I rounded the corner. A woman with long blonde hair was sitting on a sofa, looking at something sitting on a table across the room. I was shocked when I noticed people on the slick screen, talking and moving. The woman looked up, alarmed.

"Ari!" she yelled and shot off the sofa, immediately wrapping her arms around Ari's thin frame. Ari groaned dramatically and went limp in her mother's grip.

"Mom. You're choking me…"

"Sorry!" Nikki was tearing up now, wetness streaking her face. She still held Ari's shoulders. "Just… Where…were you?! Oh God, I looked everywhere! Gale and Rachael hadn't seen you and you never came to dinner or school and you wouldn't answer your phone and-!" then she stopped, peering past Ari, towards me, towards us all.

"Oh my God-"

"Mom-"

"Ari! Get behind me!" Nikki yelled and shoved the girl behind her. She picked up something from the fireplace and I realized it was a fire prod. I jumped backwards, shocked.

"No, Mom! Ugh, stop!" Ari snapped and snatched the prod from Nikki's hand. "They're my friends."

"From where!" Nikki wiped her eyes angrily. "How did you even…"

"Mom…" Ari stopped her, placing a hand on Nikki's arm, "I'll explain everything if you'll stop interrupting me." Nikki stared at Ari for a long time, then nodded quickly and turned back, going across the room to a small room adjoined to it. The small room had a row of plush seats and a table in front of them. Huge windows behind the chairs let in sunlight.

Ari tossed the prod back into the fire pit with a clatter and stood beside Nikki. The blonde looked frozen suddenly.

"Mom…?"

I glanced over my shoulder to see what she was looking at and I realized it was the Sekoi.

"A Sekoi…" then she looked at Ari, "Where-"

"Mom, I swear to God, if you interrupt me again, I will bite you," Ari growled, then stopped, "Wait, how do you know what a Sekoi is?"

Nikki stared, surprised, then stuttered, "U-Uh, well…"

"You do know something about Anara...and you never told me there's a whole other planet…" I could hear the anger rising in Ari's voice.

"It was for your protection, Ari! I…I didn't want you to end up like Henry, I just…" Nikki yelled. Her voice cracked and her head fell to her hands, sobbing. Ari looked stunned at her mother's outburst.

"I figured it had something to do with Grandpa. I mean… But, you had no right to keep it from me!" she said angrily. Nikki wiped her eyes with her sleeve.

"Ari…there's so much you don't know. I just…didn't want to get your hopes up then have something go wrong, because it always goes wrong…"

So Nikki had some big ploy in this. She was a part of it somehow, really a part of it. And she probably knew the Makers. I know it made her upset, but to meet someone who knew the Makers personally. I remembered the yew-man, but this was different.

"Nikki," Galen stepped forward. Nikki looked up, and her expression looked even more shaken than before.

"You…You're the Crow," she said hoarsely. Galen gave a rare gentle smile and bent to her level.

"So I am. How could you tell?" he asked. He sounded like he was talking to a child. Nikki looked at her hands again, then at him.

"I-I can sense it. Ari's powers are developed enough apparently, she would have noticed too."

Ari looked offended, "Powers?" Nikki gave a sad laugh.

"Yes, Ari. I could sense it in you since you were a toddler. You're an Alagrace," she sighed.

"What's an Alagrace?" Ari blinked.

"Just…sit down. All of you. I suppose I need to finally get over all of this and tell you," Nikki murmured. Galen sat beside her and Ari plopped down on the wooden floors. Carys, the Sekoi, and I sat beside her.

"Alright," Nikki began, "It started…a long time ago with your grandfather and uncles. Henry, Tom, and Adam," she looked at Galen and I, "You…may know them as Kest, Tamar, and Flain." Galen looked astonished.

"You're related to the Makers," he muttered. Nikki seemed confused.

"I guess that's what you call them," she laughed, "It must have changed over time. People used to call them the Alagraces." Galen nodded at this new information, looking intrigued.

"Anyways, they met two girls, sisters, named Emily and Amelia. Therris and Soren, as you know them," Nikki said, "They were all a part of this species, the Alagraces, a rare sacred bloodline. There used to be many of them, but they were hunted to the stake for millions of years and they were almost wiped out totally. The few that were left went into hiding."

The story reminded me a lot of the Order and the Watch. The keepers were being killed so they had to hide to escape death. I shifted nervously in the chair, pulling at the ties of my jacket.

"Over time, humanity completely forgot that Alagraces existed. Parents forgot to tell their children of the amazing super-powered humans and no one remembered. I haven't met someone who knows of them since I was a child," Nikki murmured.

"But, you're only in your 30s. That wasn't long ago," Ari objected. Nikki gave a strange smile.

"That's what I led you and the other children to believe. I'm much older than 30, honey," she said deviously then continued, "Anyways, the Alagraces were almost gone. So Henry, Adam, Tom, Emily, and Amelia decided to use their powers to make a new place. A new planet where their descendants could live and prosper in peace."

"Anara," Galen answered. Nikki nodded quickly.

"Yes, yes, Anara. Because Adam, Tom, and Henry's last name was Anara. So they began to set to work. Adam, or Flain, poured some of his power into a book so that it would transport them to the other planet, which I assume is what you used to get there this time," Nikki glanced at Ari. The white-haired girl nodded. "Yes, well, I found that book in that box you brought from the shed. I meant to get rid of it, but I guess it fell back into the box. So they went to Anara and met and made peace with the Sekoi that already lived there."

"Ah, yes, we have stories of the Starmen. They came to the world in peace and the Council decided it would be fine if they populated the world with their kind as long as they didn't harm the Sekoi," the Sekoi spoke up, rubbing it's furred face. It's bright eyes sparkled at the tale being told. Nikki nodded with a smile.

"Afterwards, when the work was done, for many years, they continued to be between Anara and Earth. But, things began to develop between them," she muttered, suddenly looking haunted.

"Kest began to corrupt the creatures and plants?" Galen asked, but Nikki shook her head.

"No, not yet. That came years later. Kest and Therris- Henry and Emily…fell in love," she sighed softly. Everyone stared in silence. Nowhere in the stories and books had anyone written about the Makers developing feelings for each other. This surely came as a shock. "They eventually married and had two children. Halen and myself."

"Halen was the child of Therris and Kest," Galen said in disbelief, "and your brother." Nikki shot him a playful smile.

"Yes, now stop interrupting," she said curtly, "Adam eventually married as well. A nice girl named Felix. She died a long time ago from cancer. As far as I know, Tom stayed single." She thought for a moment then said, looking frightened, "Then, Henry began to meddle with the flora and fauna."

"And that's what ruined your relationship with him," Ari said. Nikki nodded, her voice breaking.

"But…what made it worse…was the fact Emily knew about it for so long before she told Adam. She let him create…that thing he called the dragon," she whispered softly. Galen wrapped an arm around her shoulders to support her.

"The Margrave," Carys gasped suddenly, "In the Litany, it talks about Flain, Tamar, Soren, Halen, and Therris forcing Kest to fight the dragon! The 'dragon' is the Margrave!" Nikki suddenly looked horrified.

"That terrible creature is still alive?" she mumbled, her voice quivering.

"No. It was killed a year ago, by our friend the Sekoi here," Galen said and motioned. The Sekoi looked a bit surprised and I glanced at the wooden floor. I remembered the Margrave. I remembered the Sekoi killing it with a crossbow. How furious I was. Carys could feel the wave of emotion coming from me and glanced over, curious. I adverted my gaze from her's immediately.

"Oh, thank God," Nikki exhaled heavily, "That thing was a killing machine."

"But, the Margrave kidnapped me and held me in Maar. It never hurt me," I said defensively, "It…actually didn't want Galen, Carys, and the Sekoi to take me back. It never kept me in a cage or anything like the other animals there." 'Although I prefer not to mention the fact it did lock me in a room,' I thought.

Nikki looked amazed. "It took you, but never hurt you? It killed Henry, for God's sake!" she gasped.

"The Margrave killed Kest?" Galen asked.

"Yes. As punishment, Adam made Henry fight the dragon- er, the Margrave. But, what was never written down was the fact that Halen tried to defend Henry. So…Adam threw Halen into the pit with Henry. I suppose maybe over time the Margrave, as it grew, settled down because when I was a child, it was vicious, had to be kept in a cage made of steel because it would break out of everything else."

"Halen found a way out of the pit and escaped, but as he got older, he developed a mental disease. He lost his mind. They locked him in a tower on Anara to keep him from hurting others."

"The Tower of Song," I said. Nikki smiled at me and I noticed her eyes were the icy blue color, the same as Ari's.

"Do you know why it's called that?" she asked and I shook my head, "Halen claimed to Adam that he could hear singing. Eerie singing that gave him nightmares. Tom spent a night there with him to investigate the statement, but it turned up false. The singing was in Halen's head, but they dubbed the tower the Tower of Song for that reason." I stared at her. I heard Carys mutter, "Creepy".

"So what about Therris- Emily? You said she didn't tell Adam right away. This made you angry?" Galen touched Nikki's arm and she jumped a bit.

"Uh, yes, but I was more disappointed. To find out that my mother could have stopped my father from doing something horrible, but didn't. I…hurt for that little Sekoi cub. And I don't blame the Sekoi for hating us. It was our fault that they lost one of their own."

"You say that like you still consider yourself one of the Alagraces," Ari muttered under her breath and Nikki glared at her.

"I want to, God, I really want to, Ari, but, it's too hard. I don't want to be related to murderers, but there's no way I can change genetics," she sighed heavily. There was a long moment of silence, then Nikki continued.

"Eventually, Adam, Tom, Emily, and Amelia realized the Margrave was too hard to control. And the fact it wouldn't die. Then one day…it escaped. They fled back to Earth and decided to never return. They were cowards," she looked up, her face dark by the strands of hair covering her eyes, "They abandoned the Adam and Felix's children there and a few other Alagraces that they had met through the years. They kept the book so there was no way off of Anara."

"What about you? What did you do?" Carys asked eagerly.

"We all lived here until everyone grew too old. Felix died a few years after we came back to Earth. Adam and Tom died in a car accident 20 years ago," Nikki said sadly.

"And Grandma and Aunt Amelia died the year before I was born," Ari finished softly.

"Actually…" Nikki glanced around at us all, "That's something else I need to tell you. Here's the thing… Emily and Amelia…are still alive."


	4. Maybe

Rating: T (Teen)

Warnings: Violence, minor blood

Pairings: None

Author's Notes: Dfndjgnfdgkmgfbn, so much has been going on and I haven't had the time or the motivation to write, but every time I get a review, it gets my butt in gear so. XD I'm not sure what to make of this chapter; it's really not my favorite. Just FYI, Raffi is also 18 in this. I say this because through the course of the books, Raffi becomes 17 and it's been a year since that so 18. Also, Ari's friends? Do you get the joke there? I'm sorry, my friend talked me into it. AND JUST WHO THE FIGS IS RAIDEN.

Go check out my other Relic Master fic. It's a one shot and it's kind of sad (I feel like stupid for killing my favorite characters, but that's what happens when a sadist writes fanfics. .).

Dragonsong57: Thanks for the review! And I actually forgot about that until you reminded me. You see, it's really been about 6 months since I read The Margrave. ^^' I skim the books constantly, but it's been a while since I actually sat down and read everything in it. BUT, I said in chapter 1 or 2, the Makers lived millions of years ago and they were the ones who brought the Earth books to Anara so I would think everything in them would be very old. Things would have changed a lot in millions of years so the things in the books were probably outdated. Hope that clears things up. :)

Music choice this time: "Airship Pirates" by Abney Park…This story makes me listen to fight music. Idk why.

Disclaimer: The Relic Master/Book of the Crow series legally belongs to Catherine Fisher. All OCs in this story belong to me.

:-:-:-:-:-:-:

"Aunt Amelia and Grandma are still alive?" the look of betrayal that streaked Ari's face was frightening. "What else have you lied to me about?" Nikki looked up, surprised.

"Ari…"

"No! Don't you even try to say that it was for my protection! You know me, Mom! I would never experiment on animals or people for that matter! That's…horrible!"

"Ari, Anara has obviously depleted from what our descendants made. Why bother?"

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. A child of the Makers has even abandoned their creation in a time of need.

" And yet," Galen took her hand in his and she turned abruptly at him, "We're still here. The Order is very much alive, as bad as it looks. More than you would think." Nikki wiped her eyes furiously and sniffled.

"Mom, weather you support me or not, I can't just let them…exist like that! You haven't seen Anara since you were little. And yeah, it has gotten worse, but I'll do everything in my power to help," Ari said firmly and clutched the journal in her hands, "Come on, guys. It was a waste of our time coming here."

Nikki stared, horrified.

"No, I won't let you go back there!"

"Like I really need your input!" Ari snapped angrily. Nikki flung herself up.

"Fine! God…I'll…" she glared away, tearing up, "I'll…come with you. But, I can't guarantee I'll be of any help. I haven't used my powers since I was young." Ari opened her mouth to say something, but it never came. Then she hugged her.

"And this is why I love you," she grinned up at her mother. Nikki was stunned, but hugged her back, smiling.

"I love you too," she released the girl and stepped back, "I need to tell Jack and the others if we're going somewhere else though. You'll have to wait until everyone gets home before we can leave. And you ought to be in school right now!" Ari's face darkened.

"Ugh, I was hoping you would forget."

"Fat chance," Nikki smirked, "Go get ready." Ari groaned loudly and walked back towards the hallway and disappeared around the corner.

"So," Nikki turned and sat sideways, one leg propped over her knee, towards Galen, "What's Anara like now? The Order?"

"The Order was mostly destroyed when I was 15 years old, by the Watch; a creation of the Margrave. We thought that once the Margrave was dead, the Watch would fall apart, but it seems that wasn't the case," Galen rubbed his face with the back of his hand, "They're still just as powerful as before. And the land around Maar, as it had been healing since the Margrave's death, is now dying once more."

"God," Nikki swore under her breath and ran her fingers through the long strands of blonde hair, then she glanced over at the Sekoi, Carys, and I, "I noticed you all wear awen-beads, well, except the Sekoi. You're keepers?" Galen nodded.

"Yes. My name is Galen Harn, Relic Master of the Order. Raffi, here," he motioned at me, "was my scholar until a year ago and Carys is my current scholar." Carys had crossed her arms over the table and was resting her chin on them, glancing around boredly. I briefly wondered how she could be bored in a place like this, but shrugged it off. Carys is strange.

Ari returned to the room in new clothing. A white shirt and a cream colored skirt that came to her knees. She looked miserable.

"Mom, where's my jeans?"

"I don't know. Where you left them?" Nikki smiled at her. Ari smacked her forehead.

"I looked all over my room and they're not in the laundry room."

"Then, I don't know, Baby," Nikki rolled her eyes, "I swear you'd lose your own head if it wasn't attached to your shoulders."

Ari groaned and tugged the hem of the skirt down, muttering on about how she hated skirts.

"Ari?"

"Yeah?" she grumbled and looked up.

"For one, put your hair back so I can see your face. Second, why don't you take Raffi with you?"

Ari and I exchanged a confused look, then at Nikki.

"Oh come on, don't look at me like that. It might be useful. And I know Mr. Turner wouldn't mind if he sat in with you for a day," Nikki frowned.

"That's actually…a good idea," Ari looked over at me, "What do you say? Want to come to school with me?" I grinned and stood up.

"Sure," I said happily.

"Cool. Well…you'll have to borrow some of my brothers' old clothes. They'll suspect something if you where what you have on," Ari pondered.

:-:-:-:-:-:-:

Ari had picked out some clothing for me and it felt incredibly strange on my body. The fabric was cleaner and softer than my old clothes. The sides of my new shirt had small holes in the fabric, arranged in a pattern and the cool winter air felt strange against my skin. The rest of the shirt was black, aside from the short sleeves that were striped in yellow and white and there was a giant number 5 on the front and back.

The trousers were rough and stiff; it took more of an effort to move my legs in them, but I wouldn't complain. Ari was nice enough to give me new clothes and let me come to school with her. We were currently running down the road from her house. We had left in a hurry so Ari wouldn't be horribly late for her class.

From the books I had read while I was in Maar, everything had changed. A lot. The roads, instead of being gravel or just beaten grass trails like the pictures in the books, were made of something hard and rough and my boots clicked at they hit against it. Huge buildings were all over, lining the roads, some made of bricks and some made of Maker material. Occasionally, there was a tree beside the roads, surrounded by bricks and finely decorated with tiny flashing lights. It was all a truly beautiful sight.

"So do you have any friends at school?" I asked as we approached a cross of 2 roads, making a giant X in the ground.

"Yeah. Three. Snowi, Rachael, and Gale. Snowi was suspended from school though so you probably won't meet her today," Ari jumped the weird lines in the ground that appeared every couple feet, barely watching where she was going, "You'll like Rachael and Gale though. Gale's a bit forceful and rude, but she's a good person. Rachael…well, you'll just have to wait and see about Rachael," she grinned, "She's a bit overwhelmingly friendly."

"Oh," I said. Ari turned sideways down another road and I turned to race after her, "Wait up!"

She had walked up to a building made of brick and was holding the huge white doors open. She smiled over her shoulder at me, "Come on."

I walked in and I heard the door close behind me. There was a long hallway down from the main door, other wood doors lining the walls. Most were closed, but some were open and I made some sense-lines, letting them crawl down the hallway into the rooms. I could hear the boisterous laughter of children and the hushing tones of the teachers, fussing and arguing with the students. There were a lot of people here. I wasn't sure if I liked that or not.

"Have you ever been to school, Raffi?" Ari grabbed my wrist and tugged me down the hallway at a leisurely pace.

"No. My mother couldn't afford to send me or my siblings. She could barely feed us," I responded.

"Wow. Then welcome to the horror that is Jaunice High School," Ari grinned and entered one of the classrooms, pulling me in after her. The room seemed a bit cluttered. There was a big desk to the left where a nearly bald man sat, hunched over a stack of papers. There was a giant board behind him with writing scribbled over it. I assumed the man was the teacher since he was older than anyone there. He seemed to have totally given up on controlling the people in the classroom.

A girl with long black hair stood beside the teacher's desk, a pen in one hand, pointing at the board. There appeared to be a game going on.

"No, it's not kitten. Where did you even get that? The letters are N, P, T, N, E," she snapped and tugged her hair back, but it fell in front of her eyes again, "The answer is- Ari!" She dropped the pen she was holding and stared at us both. Another girl, much shorter than the other, with curly brown hair that stopped at her shoulders, shot up from one of the small desks.

"Ari!" she shrieked and ran over, throwing her arms around Ari's neck. Ari gasped and stumbled, but caught her balance.

"Hey, Rach," she greeted hoarsely. The first girl came over, looking furious.

"Where the heck were you? We were worried sick!" then she turned to look at me, "And who's this? You're new boyfriend? Please, don't tell me you tried to run away with him or something."

"Gale, shut up," Ari hissed and let go of Rachael. Gale grinned.

"You've known me for 7 years. You should know I have a horrible disposition by now," she said.

"But, seriously!" Rachael jumped up and down, "Where were you?!" Ari smiled.

"I had to go to somewhere. Enough said," she said gently, then looked at me, "And this is my cousin, Raffi. He and my other cousins are going to be staying with us for a while. Their house burned down." I glanced at her astonished. She could tell lies as well as Galen. That was totally believable and her friends didn't question it.

"Oh. Well, nice to meet you," Gale said gruffly and Rachael waved wildly at me.

"Hi!" she greeted rather loudly. I just muttered a soft "hello" and stared at the ground.

"Jeez, shy," Gale grabbed my arm suddenly and pushed me towards the front desk. The teacher looked up.

"Who's this?"

"My cousin, Raffi Morel. He's going to sit in with me today," Ari butted in beside me.

"Alright. Just don't interrupt my class, Mr. Morel, or Ari's mother will be on the phone to come get you in a second," he said sternly. I nodded.

"Yes, sir," I said obediently, even though I didn't know what a "phone" was. Ari sat down in one of the empty desks and I sat in the one beside her's.

The next few hours, while Ari, Gale, and Rachael complained about it being boring and useless, I was listening intently to anything the teacher, Mr. Turner, said. He talked about two wars that took place on Earth a long time ago called World War I and World War II and then another, the Civil War. Apparently, there were a lot of battles in Earth's history.

While they were usually sad, it was none the less interesting. Ari spent most of the time scribbling little notes down on pieces of paper and tossing them to Rachael, who would do the same. I guess this was their way of speaking since they weren't allowed to talk out loud while Mr. Turner was teaching.

The day progressed quickly. I found myself not really wanting to leave. Then a bell rang and it scared me to death. I jumped out of the desk, startled. Ari jumped and glanced at me.

"You alright?" she asked. I glanced around and everyone in the room was staring at me.

"U-Uh…yeah. Just scared me is all," I muttered, embarrassed, and sat down. I wanted to ask what the bell meant, but I kept my mouth shut. Everyone seemed to be getting up now.

"Hey, Ari," Gale walked over, swinging her bag over his shoulder. Rachael followed behind her. "Do you want to come to a party tonight? Disco and Techno are throwing one on the East Side. It'll be fun," she said, then looked at me, "Your cousin can come too if he wants." Ari glanced at me.

"Well, want to?"

"Uh…I don't know…" I glanced away, "I'll have to ask Galen," then I looked horrified. Nikki had told me before I left not to bring up anything about Anara. No one needed to know it existed. I had just brought up Galen and I wasn't good at lying.

"Galen?" Gale tilted her head, hair falling to one side. I noticed her eyes were dark brown, almost black.

"Um, his dad," Ari cut in quickly and glared at me. The black haired girl looked confused.

"You call your dad by his first name?"

"It's his stepfather," Ari said. She looked a bit more confident now. I nodded quickly.

"Yeah." Gale blinked, then shrugged.

"Alright then. Well, just call me later and I'll give you the instructions to get there," she said and walked away, waving goodbye to us.

"You'll have to remember all of this, you know. I'm not going to do it for you. This is your cover on Earth," Ari grinned at me, careful to keep her voice low, as we exited the room.

:-:-:-:-:-:-:

"So how was school?" Galen said from the sofa. I glanced over at him and smiled.

"Interesting," I said. Nikki walked into the room, the Sekoi and Carys behind her.

"Glad you enjoyed it," she said and laid something out on the table. I sat beside Galen and looked it over. It was a roughly sketched map of Anara, some parts scratched out and redrawn. Ari walked into the room with a can of soda.

"While you were gone, Galen and I talked some about the Watch. Since you destroyed the Margrave, you'd think they would have fallen apart since they had no leader, but I suspect that one overly curious Watch member decided they would investigate their leader's disappearance and they went to Maar," Nikki said firmly, pointing to Maar on the map, "So therefore, we probably need to check it out." Ari looked a bit more intent.

I felt my heartbeat accelerate and I didn't notice I gripped the armrest.

"I-I…" I began, but didn't finish. Nikki looked up at me sympathetically.

"Raffi, you don't necessarily have to go." I shook my head.

"I'll be okay," I muttered shakily.

"So we're going to Maar?" Ari blinked. Nikki gave a heavy sigh and nodded.

"We'll had to eventually, but right now, we probably need to focus on getting a war band together," she murmured, "You all know the Watch. This won't happen easily. There will be the battle of the century," Nikki frowned, "We'll probably need to go from village to village and just pray to God no one wants to turn us in to the Watch."

A heavy silence hung in the air for a long time. There was no reason to speak, we all knew.

:-:-:-:-:-:-:RAIDEN'S P.O.V. :-:-:-:-:-:-:

I couldn't really believe I was doing this, but I refused to let Taura take Spiral. I slashed the knife forward and tore the Watchman's sleeve. I didn't think I hit him until blood spurted from the wound. I wiped at the blood that stung my eyes and turned and ran. Suddenly, my entire world slanted and I fell with a grunt.

"Raiden! Please, help!" the words tore out of her throat in a scream, ending in a snarling hiss. A Watchman yelled with pain; I could only assume she had clawed him. I forced my sore body up on my one good hand, and staggered back up the small hill. I caught a glimpse of a Watchman holding Spiral up off the ground, her legs flailing wildly at the loss of ground.

Another man grasped my shoulder and forced me around. I stared at him dully for a moment as he grabbed my throat and threw me to the ground, then I smashed the knife into the side of his head. I didn't care that I was a keeper, that I had just betrayed everything I had been taught. I didn't care that I'll never be able to see myself as anything other than a killer for the rest of my life. I didn't care. All that mattered was getting Spiral and myself out of here alive.

I stood up fast and ran over where two Watchmen were attempting to put the shrieking Sekoi on top of a horse without getting kicked in the face. I clipped the handle over one's head and kicked the legs out from under the other. Spiral landed on her feet and grabbed my arm, tugging.

"Come on!" she gasped. I took one last look at the scene I had created and threw the knife down and ran after the one person I cared for.


	5. Rebellion I

Rating: Teen

Warnings: Blood, mild violence, cauterization

Pairings: None

Author's Notes: This story is becoming more like a chore than a hobby. x_x No one reads this except my friends and only because I force them to. Reviews will get me to write the next chapter.

I'm sorry if the cauterization isn't realistic. I looked it up, but I could only find explanations using alcohol and the demonstration I saw was on Dual Survival, they used gunpowder; neither of which I had to work with in this story. Then again…it's fantasy. It doesn't have to be realistic. :Y

Disclaimer: The Relic Master/Book of the Crow series legally belongs to Catherine Fisher. All OCs in this story belong to me.

:-:-:-:-:-:-:ARI'S P.O.V. :-:-:-:-:-:-:

Late the night before, we had teleported back to Anara. Along with us were my brothers, Izera, Tom, and Daniel, and my older sister, Paige. Dad had stayed home to look after my little sisters, stricken with the worry of Mom and the unborn baby. Mom had soothed him, saying she would be careful, but I knew he fretted.

Tallis had greeted us and given us all a place to stay for the night. The next morning, after some discussion, Galen, Raffi, Carys, Mom, and I left Sarres. Mom was horrified when we stepped out into the stinking marsh.

"Keilder Wood used to be just that. A wooded forest. What happened to it?" she had said.

"Cut down over time," Galen had responded stiffly as he tramped through the mud. Mom just heaved a sigh and carried on after him. I fell to the back of the group, walking beside Raffi.

"So what do you think?" I asked. He looked up, hair in his face.

"About what?"

"All of this." He looked a little dazed, staring at his boots.

"I don't know what to think, Ari," he muttered, "I don't know if…if I can go back to Maar." I blinked and touched his hand. He jumped slightly.

"Then you need to tell Galen and Mom that. I think they'll understand. You were traumatized there for God's sakes," I frowned. Raffi sighed and stuffed his hands in his pockets. I blew air and flung a rock into a puddle with the toe of my sneaker.

We walked for hours until we were too tired, stopping in a small clearing near a Watchtower. It was a dangerous move, but Galen insisted that Mom rest. He said we all could sleep a couple hours then we would resume. It was near night time when I curled up beside Mom.

It had only been 30 minutes or so before I heard Galen rattling Mom out of her sleep and it jolted me up as well. Raffi and Carys were already scrambling up, half asleep.

"What's going on?" I asked, but was immediately shushed.

"The Watch are coming this way," Carys hissed softly, throwing the pack over her shoulder. I froze and listened. I could hear hoof beats and the clinking of heavy harnesses. A horse snorted. My heart stopped for a moment and I felt coldness seep into every fiber of my being. I staggered to my feet and broke into a run after Galen.

Then Raffi tripped and crashed into a puddle, a deafening splash in the night. The movement farther in the woods stopped, then I heard the galloping of a horse.

"Run!" Galen growled and we all scattered. I couldn't tell where anyone was, I just ran. I guided my way between the thick tree trunks as the galloping got closer.

"Stop!" a man yelled somewhere. I was running into a clearing when I felt someone snatch the collar of my shirt up from behind. I screamed as loud as I could and I distantly heard Mom yell my name. She burst into the clearing, looking petrified. Two Watchmen came from the brush, hauling Carys and Raffi. Another came shortly behind, dragging Galen by his arms. The keeper wasn't moving; blood stained his coat.

"No! Stop!" Mom yelled. The Watchman who had Galen seized her wrist and she tried to fight to no avail.

"This is that girl who escaped the other day. Remember? The one with the gun," the man holding me sneered in my face.

"Burn in hell," I snarled and spat in his face. The man flinched and wiped his cheek, growling darkly.

"Who are you?" he snapped. I rolled my eyes.

"Like I'm dumb enough to tell you that," I said. A dark smile crossed the Watchman's face and it utterly terrified me.

"You'll talk under torture. They all do," he said mockingly.

"No," Mom murmured quietly and nearly went limp in the man's arms, then she looked up; her eyes glowed a bright blue, "No, she won't…because you won't take her." The Watchman stared up from me.

"And what makes you say that?" he smirked. Mom tore out of the other man's grip and slashed his face. He stumbled back with a pained cry.

"Because I'm more powerful than you," she suddenly looked wild with authority. She threw her arms up and light crackled from her hands. The other men dropped Raffi and Carys; I fell to the ground as well.

:-:-:-:-:-:-:RAFFI'S P.O.V. :-:-:-:-:-:-:

Nikki was alive with power. I felt it before it showed. I was too dazed to move from the muddy ground as the woman reached out and grabbed the main Watchman's vest, pulling him forward.

"Now," she growled, her voice not her own, but that of a monster's, "I want you and your Watchmen to get your asses back to your Watchtower and tell whoever your Lord is that he or she has some competition and that their world is going to come crumbling down all around them. The Alagraces are back and we will not be silenced."

The man pried her hand away. They all turned and ran, tugging their horses away in fright. I looked up at Nikki, surprised at the energy that resonated from her. Then it went away instantly. She looked weak and fell to lean against a tree. Ari stood up.

"M-Mom…how did you…"

"No time," Nikki muttered hastily and fumbled over to where Galen lay. He was still unconscious and blood ran freely from a wound in his shoulder.

"What do we do?" I said, panicking. Nikki reached down and touched the wound. A crossbow bolt was imbedded in his shoulder. She pulled it out and pressed her hand against it, blocking the blood flow.

"Raffi," she glanced over at me, "make a fire."

"B-But, what about the Watch-?"

"They won't be here for a while. The bolt cut into the brachial artery. I need to close this wound or he'll bleed out," she said quickly and shoved the pack over at me. Hurriedly, I grabbed the tinderbox and lit a match.

"Do you have anything flammable?" Nikki looked at me.

"Would some oil work?" I asked. She nodded. I handed her the jar from the pack and she dabbed her finger in, smearing a bit of it on the cut. She carefully took the match from my hand and held it close.

"What're you doing?" I stared in shock, "You'll burn him!"

"That's the point," she said quietly, "The fire will burn the wound shut. It hurts like hell, but it works." She pressed the small flame into the oil and it immediately began to burn. I watched as Galen's calm face contorted into one of pain. He made a soft groaning noise and shifted uncomfortably. "If he wakes up, get ready to hold him down." Nikki commanded.

The blood was drying around the injury. A sickening smell filled the air and I turned away, feeling sick. Ari and Carys watched, although they both looked a bit disgusted. Galen groaned again and moved more, then his eyes shot open. He sat up abruptly and yelled in pain. I grabbed his shoulders, telling him to settle down, but he ignored me.

Nikki held his arm still, then blew the match out, stepping back. Galen reached up instinctively and attempted to grab the searing area, but the blonde woman swatted his hand away.

"I know it hurts, but don't touch it," she ordered. Galen growled and protested, but obeyed her. I noticed his entire body was shaking with the agony.

"What…happened? I remember Watch," he muttered gruffly. Nikki stood up.

"You were shot. I scared them off," she said. Galen looked up, surprised.

"I guess that was the Alagrace power?" Ari spoke up quietly from behind. Nikki nodded slowly.

"I…I thought that I would never feel that again. That rush. The insanity of it all. It was…amazing," she sighed, then looked alert, "Galen, can you walk? We need to get out of here. The Watch will be coming here once they hear of my little outburst." Galen grunted and pushed himself to his feet, wincing because of his arm.

"I'll survive. Is everyone else alright?"

"We're all fine," Nikki clutched his hand to steady him, "Let's head off."

:-:-:-:-:-:-:

It was a 6 day trek to Halenden, but we made it there eventually. Nikki had bound Galen's injury with a strip of fabric she had torn from the hem of her sleeve and checked it regularly; she said it was healing well, but there was still the risk of infection. Ari washed her hair in a river and I was surprised when the different colors faded away. It was all fake color; her real hair color was a brown, lighter than mine.

It was the beginning of winter and it snowed lightly as we approached the small town. I vaguely recalled the Frost Fair, almost two years ago now. It wouldn't be long before they started setting up for the next one. At least the check points weren't out now and we would be able to walk in freely. We stopped just outside the town to talk.

"What we do? If we talk to the wrong person, they'll call the Watch," I crouched beside the others, sick with worry.

"We'll just have to trust our instincts. Choose who you think seems trustworthy," Galen instructed. Nikki sighed heavily.

"We'll be in God's hands," she whispered and rubbed her face, "Ari, come with me. All the rest of you, split up. Use a mind-touches if you need me," she stood and walked toward the open gates, Ari following. The rest of us went in at different times to avoid suspicion. I did notice, out of the corner of my eye, that people watched Nikki and Ari with a strange curiousness because of the strange clothing they wore.

I walked around aimlessly, pretending to admire different objects in the stalls, watching the different people that came and went. Then, I spotted someone I knew. It was a small woman with short grey-streaked brown hair. I had planned to avoid people who traveled together because it would be easier for them to restrict me if I happened to be found out, but I couldn't control myself. I ran up, excitement making my heart beat fast.

"Ma?" I asked softly, barely loud enough to hear. The short woman turned and looked at me, startled, then her eyes got big.

"Raffi?" she whispered. I grinned and jumped forward, wrapping my arms around her neck. "Oh, Raffi!" she gasped happily and hugged me back. I could feel Galen's gaze on my back from where he watched at the stalls, but I didn't care. Ma was crying, I could feel tremors racking her body. I opened my eyes and stepped back, looking her over. She was about 5 or 6 inches shorter than me, wearing a pale blue dress and a simple strand of pearls.

"Oh, Raffi, you've gotten so big," she dabbed her eyes and straightened hair out of my face.

"I missed you so much," I breathed.

"I missed you too," Ma leaned in close and lowered her voice, "Where's Galen? Is he still with you?"

"He's here as well as some of my friends. I need to talk to you, really bad," I smiled, "Meet me outside the gates in 10 minutes, okay?" Ma nodded.

"Of course," she leaned forward and kissed my cheek, "Oh, I love you," then she turned and walked away like she had never seen me in her life. I smiled distantly after her as she disappeared into the crowds.

I stayed the 10 minutes, then I threw a mind-touch at Galen, Carys, and Nikki. I glanced in their directions a couple of times as they casually made their way to the gates and exited. I walked outside and noticed there were a couple other people around. Two tall men with black hair, one had a beard, and a stout girl with red hair, pulled back in a ponytail.

Ma came out minutes later.

"Luna?" Galen murmured softly. Ma grinned and hugged him, much to his surprise.

"Hello, Galen. I never thought I would see you again!" she laughed and pulled back, glancing around, "What's going on?"

"Rebellion is progress," Ari grinned.

"Who are you?" Nikki stepped forward, practically towering over my mother. Ma looked up at her.

"Luna Morel, Raffi's mother. Are you his friends?"

"You could call us that," Nikki said and looked over at the three people behind them, "Everyone, this is Jauni," she pointed to the girl, then to the men, "Erin, and Logan. They've agreed to help us." The girl, Jauni, smirked and waved. The men nodded. Galen sighed.

"I thought we would have more than this, but beggars can't be choosers," he said frustratingly, then sighed, "What we're doing is planning to attack Tasceron, but we'll need an army to do so. Tasceron is practically one big Watchtower. Hopefully, the three of you have friends who wouldn't mind helping us out."

"Oh, yeah," Jauni spoke up, her voice high pitched, "A few people in my village might be interested. I could talk to them."

"Our entire village would want to help," Logan said, "and Erin knows some people Arreto Town that would gladly play a part." Galen nodded.

"Good. If at all possible, talk to them." Ma looked up from playing with the buttons on her dress.

"I could get my kids together. They wouldn't mind it at all," she said. I smiled.

"I miss everyone. It'd be nice to see them again," I said and Ma patted my shoulder.

"Alright. Jauni, Erin, Logan, go back and get your lots together, whoever will come. Go, as soon as possible," Galen commanded, "Meet us in the Forest of Tamar one week from now. We will be there with our plans of attack."

"Fine, but we're putting our trust in you and your Order, Keeper. Please keep your promises," Erin muttered and turned, Logan following. Jauni bid us farewell and took off in another direction. Ma sighed heavily.

"I suppose I should get going then. I'll meet you in the Forest with the others then," she looked up and smiled at us all.

"Thank you, Luna," Galen begrudgingly accepted another hug from her, as did I, before she said good bye and left.

"Well, that was productive…" Carys said quietly. Nikki shrugged.

"Better than nothing. We can always-" she began, but a sudden crashing noise came from the wooded area nearby. We all went silent as a figure stumbled from the darkness. It was a young Sekoi, it's light cream fur smeared with dried blood. It looked up tiredly and fell to it's knees. Galen stepped over to it.

"Who are you? What's wrong?" he asked harshly.

"Please…you have to help me…" she gasped and looked up, yellow eyes desperate, "My master…she…she passed out…and she's hurt! Please, you have to help her!"


	6. Rebellion II

Rating: K

Warnings: Minor blood

Pairings: RaffiXAri fluff because it was requested by my awesome fan! c:

Author's Notes: Well…alright! I keep getting random motivation to do this. I'm constantly playing with ideas for it because I really DO like writing it; it just becomes boring at some parts and I lose the encouragement to keep on. But this WILL be finished. I don't leave my stories hanging.

So here it is, chapter 6. In this chapter, the gang travels to the Forest of Tamar, just outside the massive city of Tasceron. They plan to take back what is rightfully theirs…but can they do it?

Listen to Maps by Hey Ocean while you read this, at least until you reach the part where they dock. It's epic.

Disclaimer: The Relic Master/Book of the Crow series legally belongs to Catherine Fisher. All OCs in this story belong to me.

:-:-:-:-:-:-:RAFFI'S P.O.V. :-:-:-:-:-:-:

Everyone exchanged a glance.

"Your master?" Galen glared. The Sekoi stood shakily, her legs nearly giving out; she had been running.

"Yes!" Hastily, she pulled several strands of awen-beads from her neck. She's a keeper? But she's a Sekoi! Galen looked surprised, then serious.

"Take us to her," he commanded. The Sekoi girl swallowed and pointed into the forest before running off. We followed her and came across the crumpled form of a woman in the dead leaves. Galen and Nikki knelt beside her. The girl hung back, playing nervously with the buttons on her jacket.

"Is she okay?" she murmured. Nikki felt her wrist for a pulse, then nodded and looked down. There was blood on her coat and all around her arm and…her arm. She had no left hand. Nikki gasped and pulled her arm up gently.

"What happened to her?" the blonde looked up. The Sekoi girl shook her head wildly.

"She...she was captured by the Watch just the other day. She got it to stop bleeding for a while, but she caught it on something and it tore it open again… She just stumbled and fell a few minutes ago. I didn't know what to do," she stammered, rubbing her face and ears. I noticed she didn't have tribe marks like other Sekoi. Nikki nodded and laid the woman's hand down gently.

"You did the right thing. Be glad you ran into us and not the Watch," Carys muttered from behind, "I've never heard of a Sekoi keeper though." The girl smiled a little, showing her sharp fangs.

"Yeah, she took me in when I was young. I wasn't a cub, but I wasn't old enough to be on my own. Apparently, my mother was killed and Raiden just got too attached to me to hand me off to some random Sekoi so she just taught me to be a keeper," she shrugged, "My name's Spiral, by the way. And my master's name is Raiden." Galen looked up, startled.

"Raiden?"

"Yes. Why, do you know her?"

"No," Galen said without hesitation, but that only made it more obvious. The name had caught him off guard. Nikki frowned a little.

"Either way, we need to move from here. This is too close to Halenden for my liking. We were going to go East anyways," she muttered and turned, "Spiral, it would probably be the best idea if you would come with us. Galen, Carys, and Raffi are keepers as well." Spiral perked up a little and smiled.

"Really? Raiden would be happy to hear that," she said quietly.

And we started off. It was well into the night before we stopped. Galen carried Raiden the entire way, despite his leg, and we settled by the water. We had made a fire and we were all huddled around it, wrapped in thick blankets. I shared one with Spiral and Ari, who both were leaning on me, half asleep.

Raiden was leaned against Galen, who took some strange care to keep her warm. I sent a sense-line curling over and touched both of the keepers. Galen was lost in thought; Raiden's mind stirred quietly, numb and tired, but I felt a sudden spark. I winced at the dim pain behind my eyes. Galen's eyes widened and he looked at her.

"Raiden?" Spiral was suddenly awake and leaned over. Ari groaned dramatically and buried her face farther into my neck. Raiden whimpered and curled in on herself, then hissed and opened her eyes. She looked bleary and weak, but she gazed around, suddenly alert.

"W-Where am I?"

"Relax, you're okay," Nikki leaned forward and touched her shoulder, "My name is Nikki Murray. You're safe." Raiden looked around again, then shoved Galen away.

"Get off!" she snapped and attempted to stand, stumbling and nearly falling back down.

"Raiden, stop. You'll hurt yourself," Spiral hissed and stood up, rushing over to grab her sleeve. Surprisingly, Raiden didn't push her away. She grabbed her scholar and held her close.

"Thank God, you're alright," I heard her mutter. Spiral grinned.

"Well, someone has to look after you," she said. Raiden looked at Nikki.

"Who are you people?"

"Like I said, I'm Nikki. This is my daughter, Ari. Raffi, Carys, and Galen," Nikki motioned around, but Raiden's eyes were trained on Galen.

"Galen? Galen Harn?" she said softly. Galen looked up with a strange smile.

"Nice to see you did something useful with yourself," he said. Raiden covered her mouth with her hand.

"Y-You…" she let go of Spiral and bent down, flinging her arms around Galen's neck. The keeper nearly fell backwards from the force, but hesitantly did the same.

"What's going on?" I frowned.

"Yeah, what are you not telling us?" Carys folded her arms. Raiden looked over and smiled at us.

"My name is Raiden Harn. Galen is my brother."

:-:-:-:-:-:-:

Morning came quickly and boats were beginning to pull up to the docks, scaring us back into the forest. There, we sat in a clearing and explained to Raiden and Spiral what we planned to do.

"Just one thing," Raiden muttered, "How do you propose to get to the Forest of Tamar? I mean, that's a week's trek on foot." Ari sighed and looked away, then stood up.

"I may have an idea," she said and stalked out of the brush onto the shore. There was a large boat there where men yelled and unloaded fish and barrels from the deck. I got on my knees and peered over the bushes. What was she doing?

Ari walked over to one of the men, the captain, and tapped his shoulder. He turned, curious and looked at her jokingly. I threw a sense-line over so I could hear what they were saying.

"And what can I do for ya, girl?" the man said in a mocking tone. Ari put a hand on her hip and leaned to one side.

"You can hitch me and a few of my friends up with a ride," she said seriously. The captain roared with laughter.

"Aye, lass, that would have to cost ya and I doubt ya have any-"

"Would this do?" I saw Ari reach down and pull a bracelet from her wrist; she held it up, "It's solid gold." The man frowned darkly at her, then snatched it from her hand and fumbled it between his fingers for a moment. Then, heaving a sigh, he said, "Fine."

"Get you and ya crew on board. We won't be coming back for anyone who gets left behind," he snapped and shoved the bracelet in his pocket. Ari grinned and walked back towards the forest line.

"There's our ride," she said proudly. Nikki smiled.

"That's my girl," she patted her shoulder. Ari settled back beside me.

"I thought of another problem. We need to contact Alberic. After the events in Maar, I got him to agree he would help us with Tasceron when we decided how we would do it. However, I need to let him know he needs to go to the Forest of Tamar with his band of thieves. Even with the help from those three good samaritans, we'll still need him," Galen thought aloud with a sigh. Ari looked over at him curiously.

"I may be able to do something about that too. Give me a second," she reached into her pocket and pulled out a small grey compact box. She flipped up the top and pressed a button. I looked over her shoulder. It looked similar to a relic I had seen before, but this one worked. The normally grey screen light up a bright blue. Ari pressed the different buttons on it and looked up at Galen.

"I can send a message to my sister using this. She can tell the Sekoi to go find Alberic and tell him. What should I say?" she asked. Galen stared skeptically.

"Say that Alberic and his army need to get to the Forest of Tamar 7 days from now. I don't care how, but they needn't be late," he said. Ari pressed more buttons and I saw writing appear on the screen, addressing her sister.

"How are you going to send that? There's no cell signals here," Nikki frowned.

"I might be able to use my power to force it," Ari muttered and pressed the right button. A small box appeared on the screen that said "sending". Ari closed her eyes and exhaled slowly. The box stayed on the screen, but I could feel the object working; it's coursing power. Then it stopped. Ari gasped from the effort and nearly dropped it.

"It worked," she breathed. Nikki laughed softly.

"I will never fully understand how our powers work," she said.

"Aye!" I heard a man yell and Ari looked over the bushes. The captain waved impatiently, "Are you lot coming or not?" We all stood and walked over, boarding the ship in silence. The crew was a little less than friendly, but they didn't bother us and we didn't bother them. The captain, Orran Kean, showed up around the ship. We were given 3 rooms to stay in, although I stayed out on the main deck until nightfall.

I quickly discovered I didn't like boats. I was ill minutes after we set off; the continuous rocking and swaying was sickening. Ari came to sit beside me as we looked out over the water.

"Hey. You alright?" she touched my shoulder and I flinched. I wiped my mouth on my sleeve.

"No," I joked feebly. Ari grinned.

"Try taking deep breathes. It stifles the urge. Although, whether it'll work or not, I don't know," she shrugged.

"Ugh, of course I had to get sick," I muttered, cringing as I felt another wave of nausea hit me. Ari stood up and walked behind me and I suddenly felt her hands at my neck. Startled, I moved away, but she held me in place. "W-What are you doing?"

"Trying to make you feel better," she smiled and massaged my shoulders. I wanted to pull away, to be embarrassed, but it did feel good. I slowly settled and leaned back. "Relax and tune out the boat. Just listen to the water." I did as I was told and closed my eyes. I dozed off, only waking up when Ari moved away from me.

"Thanks," I laughed weakly. Ari smiled.

"No problem," she turned, but I reached out and grabbed her hand. She turned in confusion.

"Uh…could you…um, stay here for a while? Everyone's just been kind of ignoring me," I said nervously. Ari nodded and sat down on the ledge with me.

"Um, sure," she ran her fingers through her hair, "Gale and Rachael are probably freaking out about me. I never called them to tell them we couldn't come to their party."

"I'm sure they'll be fine. Maybe a little mad when you get back," I laughed, then stopped, "Are…you going back to Earth? Like, once all of this is over?"

"Oh, uh…" Ari looked up, surprised, "I don't know. Mom will probably want me to, but…I don't know if I want to or not. I think I have a soft spot for Anara now," she grinned. I looked up at her happily. We sat there for a while, just watching the water as the ship moved slowly down the lake.

:-:-:-:-:-:-:

The days passed slowly and I longed for land even though I had mostly gotten used to the constant motion of the boat. Ari hadn't heard from her sister on her relic-box, so we were left hoping Paige got the message. Nikki, Raiden, and Galen had made some plans for Tasceron, but they still stayed below deck, always talking, always plotting. Overall, it was utterly boring. Late on the 6th day, the boat finally docked. Captain Orran stalked up to where Ari, Spiral, Carys, and I sat.

"This is far as I can take you," he said sternly and motioned to the Forest of Tamar just in the distance, "Now, if y'all would be so kind as to get off my ship!" Ari grinned and thanked him. The others emerged from below deck. Nikki followed after Ari as we exited. The girl looked over.

"Well?"

"I think we can do it," Nikki said with a smile. Ari grinned and jumped the gap between the ship and the dock and I followed. The Forest was just a walk away; you could already see the huge span of greenery stretching across the open plains. Ari stopped at the shore to stare in wonder.

"Anara never ceases to amaze me," she breathed, "This is more beautiful than any forest on Earth." I stared with her, then looked over the tree tops. Darkness hung in one massive cloud, black as night, swirling around the barely visible tops of towers; the gloom that marked Tasceron. "Whoa…" Ari muttered quietly and looked at me, "That's Tasceron? What happened to it?"

"No one really knows where the fog came from. Years ago, the Emperor was murdered at the gates by the Watch; it was the downfall of Tasceron. The darkness just came from nowhere and enveloped the entire city," I shook my head sadly. Ari stared up again; lightning flashed dimly across the shadows in the distance.

"I wonder if it will clear out when we defeat the Watch."

"'When'? You're so sure?" I asked. She grinned.

"Raffi, the Watch weren't meant to rule everything; the Order was. I _know _we can do this," she said confidently and snatched my hand. I glanced down at our hands, then at her.

"You give me hope," I said quietly, "I suppose that's good." Ari just smiled and glanced off into the expanse of land.

:-:-:-:-:-:-:

We spent the last few hours of daylight tramping to the forest. It was getting cold and we knew we would have to stop soon. We were discussing a place to stop for the night when Carys pointed deeper in the forest. There was a light there, a fire. I felt the sense-lines, but they were all intact. It wasn't Watch.

"It's our friends," Nikki said suddenly. I glanced over at her curiously.

"You have sense-lines?"

"Of course. It was my family that taught the keepers, you know," she laughed and walked forwards. I felt the sense-lines tense as we got the closer and everyone was made aware of our presence. Jauni stood up and quickly and I saw she clutched a bow and arrow.

"Who goes there?" she snapped.

"Galen Harn," Galen pushed to the front. Jauni lowered her bow and smiled.

"Glad you could make it, Keeper. We've been waiting," she said and sat back down. I walked into the clearing. There weren't many, maybe 25 or 30 people, sitting around, eating or talking amongst themselves. I really hoped Alberic showed up…we wouldn't be able to win like this.

"The Watch know you're here?" Galen asked. Jauni sighed and looked down.

"One of their patrols found us earlier. By some miracle, we fooled them into thinking we were just having a party, but they're probably still suspicious. In fact, I know they are," she muttered. Galen nodded.

"Just be glad no one was arrested." I settled beside Carys and Spiral. Ari sat on around the fire between Nikki and Raiden. I saw Erin and Logan across from me.

"Galen," Logan said, "How are we going to win this fight? There's not nearly enough people here for this!" his voice was shaky and nervous.

"I have friends coming from the west. A large army. They will help us," Galen said harshly, pulling his hair back, "Hopefully, they'll be here soon. I'll explain the plans tomorrow when I expect them to be here. Right now, we all just need to rest and prepare for tomorrow," he crouched and held his hands to the flames, "when we take back Tasceron."


	7. Confrontation

Rating: T (possibly M)

Warnings: Major blood, major violence, gore, disturbing content

Pairings: RaffiXAri

Author's Notes: Sweet Jesus in Heaven…I don't even know what the heck I was doing in this. I love writing major fight scenes, but I think I went a little crazy. XD Don't read this chapter if you don't like a ton of death and disturbing scenes.

Also, hooray for two updates in one day! NOW LEAVE ME ALONE.

Listen to "Pet" by The Perfect Circle while you read. It makes the experience better. c: I know it's the song I used for my other fic, but it's the perfect war song. I always imagine some huge fight when I listen. God knows it helped me write this…

Disclaimer: The Relic Master/Book of the Crow series legally belongs to Catherine Fisher. All OCs in this story belong to me.

:-:-:-:-:-:-:ARI'S P.O.V.:-:-:-:-:-:-:

I scratched at the stiff mesh around my neck. It was heavy. The blacksmith from Arreto Town was all too happy to let us borrow armor and weapons, but I honestly couldn't see myself dashing around in this. Underneath the heavy silver chest plate, I wore an even heavier chainmail mesh so that the armor wouldn't rub my skin too much. I had a sword attached to my belt, not to mention the numerous throwing knives beside it. Talk about armed and deadly…

Raffi sat across the room in a chair, looking at me expectantly.

"What?" I snapped irritably. He frowned.

"You're going fight?" I returned the frown.

"No, I'm going to walk up and ask politely if they'll leave. Of course I'm going to fight!" I hissed, and turned away, rubbing at the arm guards impatiently. "Unlike you, I don't have any rules prohibiting me from killing," then I looked up, "Speaking of which, what are you even going to do? You can't go out there with the rest of them." Raffi glanced away.

"I don't know. Maybe I could use the Third Action and knock some of them out?"

"Yeah, and get shot in the process," I muttered with difficulty, "I think it would be best if you stayed here in the Forest. I really don't want you to…" Raffi tilted his head innocently. I turned around quickly, "Look, I just don't want you getting hurt…or worse, okay?" He frowned.

"I want to help. I'll be the only one who can't do anything."

"No true. Raiden, Spiral, and Carys are going to wait outside as well."

"What about Galen?" Raffi asked, pulling the ties on his jacket.

"Mom says Galen's power is immense enough so that he can defend himself," I turned and looked in a small hand mirror I had picked up at the makeshift desk in the corner, "He's practically an Alagrace, Raffi. He's almost as powerful as Mom." Raffi stared.

"I didn't think it went that far."

"Yeah. The Crow would make a fearsome opponent," I sat the mirror down and sighed, "Just wait with the others. We'll call you in when it's safe." Sullenly, Raffi nodded and rubbed his arms. Mom rounded the corner and tapped Raffi's shoulder.

"Raffi, some people are here to see you," she said with a kind smile. He looked confused, then delighted.

"Ma!" he exclaimed and ran out of the room quickly. I followed after him. A small group was entering the clearing. The short brown-haired woman, Luna, and 5 others. Raffi hugged Luna and was almost bombarded with hugs from the others.

"Who are all these people?" I whispered to him as he stepped back. He turned and grinned.

"My siblings," he said. There were 3 women and two men, all older than Raffi. Luna smiled to me.

"These are my other children," she pointed to the girls, then the boys, "Chare, Kella, Sarah, and Rin and Caleb." I waved shyly at them. Luna continued, "Jaren and Kata couldn't make it sadly." Raffi nodded.

"That's alright," he said happily and hugged Luna again.

"Galen!" Nikki hissed from behind me and the old keeper turned from where he was at the fire.

"I already feel it," he muttered and stood up.

"What's wrong?" I looked over.

"Nothing. Alberic's here though," he said. Moments later a large man on a horse entered the clearing. He wore rusty silver armor. A horse followed behind him and for a moment, it didn't seem anyone was riding it, but there was. A small man, far shorter than me, with lavish clothes and pale blonde hair. "Alberic," Galen said, "Nice to see you still care enough to show up."

"Yeah, yeah, keeper, shut it," the small man slid down from the saddle, "I still want a share of whatever gold you find in that Watchtower when this is all over." Galen gave his harsh laugh.

"You can have it all. We have no use for it."

"You'll have to divide it with me, Warlord," I recognized the scratchy mew before I saw it. The Sekoi swerved around a tree, hands in it's pockets. It already wore armor, although it was in about the same condition as the rest's. Alberic spat angrily.

"Not on your life, Graycat!" he said venomously. The car creature gave a strange smile.

"Ari!" I looked past the Sekoi at Paige as she ran up. My brothers weren't far behind.

"Hey!" I accepted her hug, her dirty armor clashing against mine, "You're going to fight too?" I pulled back at the site. She grinned.

"We weren't going to let you do this by yourself!"

"Hey, we're a family. We're all in this together," Izera said. I smiled happily.

"Oh, you guys are the best!" I said.

"Everyone," Galen said suddenly. All the people in the clearing looked up. "Today is the day the Watch will fall. We are going to take back Tasceron, make it the way it used to be. We will not fail." His voice was certain. He believed it. And I believed it too. Galen sat down at a table and rolled out a large piece of parchment. On it was a rough sketch of Tasceron. Everyone gathered around.

"We need to take down the gate first. Erin, Logan, you will go to the gate and distract the guards. Which they aren't paying attention, some others will come up on horses and knock the gate down. It's old and made of wood, it should go down easily," he instructed, pointing at the entrance on the map, then looked at the dwarf who sat across from him, "Then you, Alberic, will storm it with your forces. Confuse them. Then everyone else can go in."

"Go straight for the Watchtower. As much as I hate the thought of anyone dying in this, there will be death. Only kill when necessary," he turned away, pained, "This is going to be a bloodbath…" he muttered. Mom put a hand on his shoulder. He looked up once more, "You all go into this knowing you may not come back. Anyone who doesn't believe they can perform…leave now."

No one moved. He nodded.

"Right then. Let's get moving!" he snapped.

:-:-:-:-:-:-:

Erin and Logan were sharing a horse. Erin had his armed in a bandage, coated with blood from a bird. The ruse was that Erin was hurt and Logan was going to ask the Watchmen at the gates where he could get help for him. Erin really looked like he was in pain. Logan snapped the reigns and the horse moved forward.

Galen, Raffi, Mom, and I watched from the bushes, out of sight. They rode up to the gates. One guard said something I couldn't decipher. Galen said something that sounded like "Get ready". All around us were Alberic's thieves on their own horses.

"Go," I heard Galen say. Then the air was alive with sound. Bushes crashed as the horses jumped over them, galloping across the field. The guards were startled; people fled from the wagons waiting to gain entrance. The guards yelled and aimed their crossbows, but they were knocked down by one of Alberic's girls, Sikka, and her horse. There was a huge booming noise as the others ordered their horses to slam their hooves against the door.

It only took 3 hits before the gate gave a loud groan and practically fell apart, the wood crumbling to nothing. We raced from the forest; I jumped over the hedge after them. This is it.

Adrenaline was pumping through my body and I felt like I could do anything. I grabbed the hilt of the sword and drew it out as I rushed past the entrance. People were running and I hoped to God I wouldn't end up hitting the wrong person. The darkness dawned and it encased everything in a black gloom; it was hard to see. I could just hear yelling.

I jumped debris and headed forward; the others could handle the Watchtower. A Watchman was already quarreling with a man in front of me. I grasped his vest and forced him back. He aimed his crossbow at me and I swung the sword, slashing his arm. He yelled and dropped the bow. Blood spattered the silver blade and my hand. I stepped on the crossbow, the wood shattering beneath the pressure.

I grabbed the man's collar and flung him back. I could feel something buzzing in the back of my head, a sudden control I have never felt before. Was that the Alagrace power? My entire body felt stronger and I turned as a hand grabbed my neck. I saw it was a Watchman with a knife; I jutted the sword through his stomach.

I stepped over the body as it slumped to the ground and I jumped into the midst of battle, swinging the sword. I let the power take over. The sword began to glow a bright almost blinding blue and it appeared to cause much more damage than before. Watchmen stared in horror and turned the other way as they saw me. After all, this was against all they had been taught. They were taught there was no such thing as magic; just the fanatics that think they can teach it. Well, they thought wrong.

This carried on for hours. Or was it minutes? I didn't know. I was relishing in the delight of knowing we were winning; that by tomorrow, Tasceron would be ours. Then my world slanted and I fell to my knees, feeling a sharp agony in my side. I touched there gently and felt a bow sticking out of my ribs. Blood wet my fingers. I looked up at a tall Watchman, who stood over me with a sneer on his face.

"What's a little girl doing out here? Don't you know you could die?" he scoffed. In a rather late reaction, I screamed. The pain was horrible. The man just laughed and reached into his pocket, pulling out a knife. He stepped behind me, pressing the knife to my neck. "Say goodbye," he snickered, then I saw a huge flash of green light up the area. The man went limp against me.

Frightened and in pain, I forced the unconscious man off and turned. Behind me stood probably the first and last thing I wanted to see: Raffi.

:-:-:-:-:-:-:

"Raffi! You were supposed to wait outside!" I screamed, forgetting my wound, although blood was pumping out of it at an alarming rate.

"I couldn't let you…" he muttered, barely audible over the noise. A man on a horse rode by and I tugged Raffi down on top of me just in time before a knife would have slashed his back. He gasped as he landed on top of me and we both scrambled up.

"Run!" I yelled at him and shoved his back, pawing the ground blindly for my sword. I grabbed the grip and took off after him through the daft darkness. We stopped in a lane a bit away from the chaos to catch our breath. I grabbed the shaft of the bow and jerked it out with a yelp, then glared at Raffi and smacked him hard across the face. He jerked sideways and clutched his cheek in shock.

"You brainless stupid idiot!" I snarled and he winced, "You could have been killed!"

"So could you," he said steadily. I turned and kicked the wall in anger.

"That wouldn't have mattered!" I shouted furiously.

"It would have to me!" he yelled back and I turned to look at him. A man ran around the corner.

"Hey!" he snapped and came forward. There was no way to run. It was a dead end. I could only stare as he drew a knife and raised it. He was aiming for Raffi, but I couldn't make my body move to get in front of him or raise my sword. Then Raffi grabbed something from his pocket and held it out just as the man was about to bury the knife in him.

They both gave a gasp.

"Raffi?" I whispered. Raffi let go of the knife he held as the man fell to the cobblestone, the handle protruding from his chest, dead. "Raffi!" I stared in horror. Raffi whimpered and touched his leg. Just above his left knee, the Watchman's knife stuck out. He collapsed, but I couldn't tell why; whether it was because it just dawned on him that he had killed someone or he was injured badly. He slumped against the dirty wall.

"Raffi!" I knelt beside him and grabbed his shoulders, rattling him. I pressed my fingers against his neck. His pulse was steady; he had passed out. I held him close, right hand closing around the knife. I knew if I removed it, he would bleed out faster. I just had to keep applying pressure. I pressed down on it hard, fighting back my tears. I wouldn't let him die.

:-:-:-:-:-:-:

"Where's Ari?!" Nikki was yelling. Galen ran up to her, grabbing her arm and pulling her down an alleyway.

"Nikki, she's here with Raffi. And they're hurt," he said. A grave silence overcame the entire community.

:-:-:-:-:-:-:RAFFI'S P.O.V.:-:-:-:-:-:-:

It was some time before I woke. I felt dizzy and bleary, could barely move. I found myself staring up at a white ceiling. I groaned and tried desperately to cover my eyes, but my arm didn't want to move.

"Do you need help?" a flat voice asked. I just nodded. I felt whatever I was laying on move and it forced me to sit up. I looked around and I could make out the blurry figure of Ari. Her expression was emotionless, her face red. She had been crying.

"Thanks," I muttered groggily, rubbing my face. The room was nothing like I have ever seen before. Everything was white and I lay in a fancy bed. Was this on Earth?

"What happened?" I glanced at Ari, my vision beginning to clear. Ari pulled a chair from the corner and sat by the bed, hanging her head.

"We won," she whispered and ran her fingers through her hair. I realized it was dyed again; a pale blue with yellow on the tips. I smiled.

"Then why are you sad? We won back Tasceron!" Ari glared up, her eyes piercing into mine.

"Raffi, you almost died! You almost bled out in that alleyway! I…" her voice cracked and her covered her face with her hands, sobbing. I touched her shoulder.

"B-But…I'm okay. See? Perfectly okay! Please stop crying…" I stammered.

"You're not 'perfectly okay', Raffi. Have you tried to move your legs?" she looked up, wiping her eyes. Puzzled, I moved my right leg, then my left…wait. I pulled the blankets back. My leg stopped at my knee where bloody bandages were.

"W-What-"

"You had already lost so much blood by the time we got you to the hospital. Your blood flow was cut off from your leg for so long, the tissue was already dying. Just sewing it up wouldn't have done any good; it would have had to be amputated anyways," Ari murmured quietly. I stared at her, than my leg, or where it had been anyways. It was really hard to believe. Ari stood up and leaned over the bed. She looked angry.

"Don't you _ever _pull that again. Ever!" she hissed. I winced and nodded. She relaxed and sighed. "I'm glad you're okay though," she whispered and leaned close, her lips meeting mine. I gasped at the foreign touch. She brought her arms up around my neck, deepening it. Then she let go all together, turned, and left the room, leaving me sitting there, wondering.


	8. Heaven

Rating: T

Warnings: Blood, minor character death

Pairings: RaffiXAri

Author's Notes: …I never get this much motivation. Something must be wrong…

Also, the My Little Pony reference. Yes, Ari likes MLP.

Disclaimer: The Relic Master/Book of the Crow series legally belongs to Catherine Fisher. All OCs in this story belong to me.

:-:-:-:-:-:-:RAFFI'S P.O.V.:-:-:-:-:-:-:

I put pressure on the strange thing gently. It seemed to hold my weight…

"Go on. You won't fall," Nikki urged wearily. I breathed and took a couple steps. The metal object held me up, working as my left foot.

"It works," I murmured in relief. Jack laughed and stood back, waving a tool.

"Glad it does," he said with a smile. Ari grinned and hugged me.

"We need to get back. I wonder if Alberic and the Sekoi are still fighting over the gold," she laughed.

"Probably. Neither of them give up easily," I smirked.

"Be careful, Nikki, please," Jack touched Nikki's hand. The woman looked up despairingly.

"I'm not pregnant any more, Jack. I don't have to be careful."

"Don't talk like that. Of course you do," Jack frowned and pulled her close. Nikki just sighed and relaxed into it. Ari frowned.

"Don't you even start getting depressed, Mom. You make mistakes when you're depressed," she chided. Nikki nodded.

"I'll try not to be," she said forcibly and touched the long blonde strands that hung in her face. Her hair was a mess, tangled and dirty. She had washed since we got back, but it didn't make her look much better and she was marred with cuts and bandages. There was a particularly bad one that curved around her face, starting above her right eye and curling down under her eye. It required stitches, but the worse wound was the fact she lost her child.

"Come on. Let's go round up everyone else and head back," Ari motioned to the door of her house. Walking on the prosthetic was strange and my knee nearly gave out at times, but I hurried after them. Jack had been nice enough to make the object for me and with her doctoral expertise, Nikki had attached it. My leg hurt only dimly, but I had a medicine I could to take for the pain. I followed Ari up the stairs. Inside, Galen and Carys sat. The keeper looked up darkly.

"So it works?"

"Yes."

"Good. You'd be of no use to any one with one leg," he said. Nikki smacked his arm.

"Don't be rude," she snapped. Carys snickered.

"Everyone ready?" Ari asked; she held up the brown journal. No one objected. She opened the pages and brightness lit up the room.

:-:-:-:-:-:-:

Tasceron was still dark, I came to realize as we teleported. We were back in the alleyway where I had been stabbed…and where I had stabbed someone else. The thought still haunted me. It always came back in waves, the raw pain of truth: I had murdered someone. I tried to make it sound better by saying it was in self defense, but I still broke the most important rule of being a keeper. Nothing would soften that.

We walked out into the main square of Tasceron. Godric rushed over.

"Thank God you're back! Graycat and the Chief are going to kill each other, I'm afraid!" he said desperately. Nikki smiled.

"Is that all? I think we have more important matters to attend to," she pointed up at the swirling black clouds, "Godric, I think you can handle them yourself." The man groaned and stormed back into a nearby building which I figured was the Watchtower.

"What are we going to do?" Ari looked up at her mother. Nikki thought for a moment.

"Do you think you could activate your powers? If we can get the wind stirred up enough, we could just push it away," she held her hands out in front of her. Galen, Carys, and I stepped back. Ari did the same hesitantly.

"I don't know. I'll try though." They exchanged a glance and closed their eyes. Nikki opened her eyes again almost immediately, but they glowed a bright blue. Ari did the same seconds later. The wind began to pick up, dusting the clouds about. Nikki raised a hand and swept it out; the wind followed. Ari did it as well, in sync with Nikki, and the wind howled at it was forced into movement.

I let the thought of it failing cross my mind, just before the clouds broke apart. Sunlight spilled onto the ground. People around cheered with delight. Ari gasped and the power left her abruptly. She fell to her knees, sweating and panting. She looked up with a crooked grin.

"You win, mom. You're better than me," she joked. Nikki smiled briefly and forced the wind out again, pushing the clouds farther away. Every building was bathed in soft sunlight. Nikki moved out with one sudden movement and the clouds disappeared over the rooftops, out of sight. Then she returned to normal.

"I'll work with the rest of it, but I'll have to follow it. Eventually, I'll get it cleared out of here," she said confidently. Ari grinned and looked up at the sun. It felt warm against my face.

"I ought to have you thrown to the gallows, you daft-!" Alberic flung the door open, the Sekoi at his heels, but they both stopped quickly upon seeing the bright sun.

"How did you…?" the Sekoi purred deeply. Alberic looked around quickly at Nikki and rushed over.

"God, how…!" he exclaimed. Nikki smiled.

"I know Galen's told you about it. The Order is far more powerful than you could ever imagine," she petted his head. Alberic growled and pulled away. The Sekoi sighed and walked over, looking over at Nikki.

"This is truly wonderful," it breathed, "Seeing where we are now, I can't believe I ever underestimated the Order," then it looked at me, noticing my leg, "Raffi?" it murmured in disbelief. I smiled sadly, moving the prosthetic; the metal clinked against the cobblestone pavement. "Dear God, I didn't think it was that bad," the cat creature rubbed it's furred face. I shrugged.

"Well, you live and you learn," I said nonchalantly. Ari smiled and put her hand on my shoulder. The Sekoi glanced at the girl.

"Ari, you got hurt as well?" it asked. Ari, in a moment of confusion, remembered her side and made a casual 'eh' sound.

"Hazards of the occupation," she grinned.

"Well, I'm glad you both came out of this alive. Some weren't so fortunate," it sighed. Nikki groaned softly.

"How many?"

"23 of ours. Among them, Sikka and Erin," it hissed, glaring at the ground. Nikki looked away. Ari was the one that spoke up, her voice strangely self-assured.

"Well…they knew it was a possibility. Have some gather about and give them all proper funerals. They died heroes," she said. The Sekoi smiled gravely and nodded.

"I'll have them organize a patrol to scout out a decent place. There are some old gardens farther down the way. They could be cleaned out and used as cemeteries."

"That sounds good…" she thought for a moment, then gazed up with a brief smile, "Make sure it looks nice. They at least deserve that." The creature nodded and turned away, calling several men and women together. Ari turned to me, seriously.

"And as for you, we need to talk."

"If you're just going to scold me again for coming in after you, I'll have you know it was totally worth the loss because you'd be dead right now if it-"

"Not that! Come here!" she grabbed my arm and tugged me into a nearby building. It was dimly lit inside, the warm morning light spilling through the broken stained glass windows. They had once featured the Makers, but nearly every one of them was busted out; you could only make out fragments of what had been there before. Ari stopped and looked at them, lost in thought.

"I suppose at some point I could get someone to fix this. Maybe my family wasn't the best in the world, but they did bring Anara to its highest caliber. I think, even with all the wrong things they did, they deserve a little recognition," she muttered aimlessly. I smiled.

"You know, Alberic's going to escort Felnia here soon. She'll be the Empress. Maybe you could talk to her about it. I'm sure she wouldn't mind."

"That's a good idea," Ari nodded, "I'll do that."

"So…" I kicked a piece of crumbled rock across the floor, "what did you want to talk to me about?"

"The kiss," she turned abruptly. I looked up. I should have expected that. We hadn't talked about it for 3 days; since that night I had been rushed into the emergency room at a hospital on Earth. I figured this would come out; I just didn't think it would be this soon.

"Oh," was all I managed.

"Raffi…I like you. A lot," Ari said steadily, searching for the right words, "When we were in that alley, I thought I was going to lose you. I seriously thought you were going to die and it was killing me inside because I would never be able to tell you. I'm not good at this kind of thing; hell, I'm 18 and I've never been in love with anyone before because I always had other things to focus on."

"But, somehow, amidst all of this crap, I managed to fall for you. And I thought you were going to die. I couldn't bring myself to do anything. I had given up. Mom found us and used the journal and she took us to the ER," she laughed pitifully, her voice close to breaking, "I wish you could have seen me in that ambulance. I was just waiting for the monitor that kept track of your heartbeat to stop. When we got to the hospital, they took you straight to surgery and I sat in the waiting room."

"From that moment on, I swore to God that if you woke up, I would tell you," she walked over and pressed her palm against one of the dirty windows, wiping the grim away; the light coming in casted beautiful colors on her face, "because you never know how long you'll know someone or how long you'll live. I've heard of many people from all over the world expressing regret because the person they liked died or moved and they were never able to tell them…because they were scared."

"I was scared. Scared of rejection; scared of being mocked because I'm a loser who's never done anything right in her life and has always failed the people closest to her, but you never know until you try," She turned back around, slowly looking up at me, "and I'm trying, Raffi. Give me a chance. I promise, _promise, _I won't fail you." Her blue eyes weren't desperate, they were serious. She was serious. I exhaled slowly.

"I…can't say I return those feelings," I looked up at her, expecting her to look disappointed, but she just stood there, staring and listening, "but if you want to try, I'm all for it." The girl smiled widely and jumped forward, hugging me.

"Thanks," she murmured. I hugged her back, smiling. She pulled back slightly and kissed me. The feeling was still strange and I couldn't decide how I should respond so I just stood there. She stopped and looked at me, smirking, "You're supposed to kiss back."

"Uh…"

"Wow, I think you suck more at this love thing than I do," she laughed and kissed me again quickly, before I could even think about doing the same. We stepped outside the building, into the sunlight, her hand in mine.

:-:-:-:-:-:-:

"So this is the place where I'm going to live now?" the little girl looked up at Galen. The keeper rolled his eyes.

"Yes. You rule this land now," he said. Felnia grinned and ran down the walkway. Galen turned to Carys, "Go follow her and make sure she doesn't get lost." She nodded and ran after the child.

"Hey, Raffi," Ari called and I turned.

"Yeah?"

"Come look," she motioned. Ari had recently dyed her hair again; it was a soft pink with a white butterfly shaped mark on the left side. She said it was modeled after a character's hair style on a TV show. The "character" turned out to be a small horse named Fluttershy from a show called My Little Pony. I had watched it a few times with her, but I couldn't see the fun in it like she could. Then again, Ari was just strange and I knew I would never totally understand her. Said girl led me down several pathways.

Nikki, with Ari's help, had cleared out all the black clouds in Tasceron; the entire city was bathed in a beautiful light, although the return of sunlight showed just how bad the town had deteriorated. The buildings were falling apart and it would take years to fix it all, but Ari had gotten Felnia's permission to command groups to fix different places. After all, several people from around had heard and wanted to move here, including my mother.

Ari lead me up to a large gated area between large towers. She unlocked the gate and I walked in. It took a moment before I realized where we were.

"This is the new cemetery," I breathed. Ari locked it back and stood beside me.

"Yeah. I think they did a good job," she said softly. Grass was already starting to grow back around the graves. At the head of each one, there was a stone slab with a name and date engraved on it. Around the edges of the gates were freshly planted flowers; I noticed that little bees and butterflies fluttered about and landed on them.

"They did. It looks great." Ari took my hand quickly and sighed.

"We won," she said. I smiled.

"We did."

:-:-:-:-:-:-:

"They **what?!**" The scream utterly terrified the timid Watchman. The Lord threw the chair back, picked a book from the desk, and flung it across the room. The man winced and took a step back. The woman, demented by rage, whirled to face him. "How could you brainless fools let this happen?!" she snarled.

"I-I'm sorry, I just-"

"No!" she slammed her hands down on the tall desk, eyes black, her voice lowered to a whisper, "Don't you even apologize. 'Sorry' won't get Tasceron back!" Then the anger was there again. She smashed a bottle against the wall. Glass shades scattered the floor and this time, the Watchman stumbled to avoid being hit with them.

"I…I don't know what to say," he muttered quietly. The Lord stopped and looked at him, curiously innocent looking.

"Oh, you don't know what to say?" she opened a drawer and pulled something out; a knife. "Then don't say anything," she said grimly and flung the object. The man didn't have time to register the thought to move before the knife plunged into his neck, right through the jugular vein. He gagged, choking, and hit the floor, his body convulsing in a seizure.

"Guards!" the woman snapped loudly. Two large men entered the room. She gestured a hand casually to the body of the Watchman and the puddle of blood forming under him, "Get this mess out of my sight. And get me an escort to Tasceron. I'm leaving tonight."


	9. Shattered

Rating: K+

Warnings: Minor violence

Pairings: Light RaffiXAri

Author's Notes: Ah, I finally took a break from writing (even though it was only for a day or two…) and God, did it help. XD So, here's chapter 9. Just so you know, this fic is nearing its end…sadly. There'll probably be 3 or 4 more chapters after this, but that's it.

I have a couple ideas for a sequel, but I'm not 100% sure that I'll act on them yet. I need to think it through and do some beta writing before I began writing the real thing (if I do). The sequel, if written, will revolve around (I'm just going to spoiler it for you, sorry) Rainea Morel, Raffi and Ari's daughter, Carys' scholar, Kate, and a surprising new guest who's not necessarily accepted by society. You'll all see…maybe!

…Taura reminds me of Alberic… Ugh. And just a little something for anyone who cares: If you want to know what Ari's voice sounds like, look up "Go Screw Yourself" by Avery.

Disclaimer: The Relic Master/Book of the Crow series legally belongs to Catherine Fisher. All OCs in this story belong to me.

:-:-:-:-:-:-:ARI'S P.O.V.:-:-:-:-:-:-:

"Wow, you guys did an amazing job!" I exclaimed. Several men stood in the corner, covered in dust and paint.

"The filling between the bricks needs a few hours to dry and we still need to polish up that throne, but I think it turned out pretty decent," the tallest one said. I nodded.

"Felnia will love it. One other thing; while you polish the throne, if you could clean this for me," I handed him something. It was a fancy crown, filthy with dirt and grime. "It was the nicest one we found. I think it would suit Felnia well." The man nodded and took it with a smile.

"Of course."

"And remember, if you see her, don't let her come in. I want this to be a surprise," I grinned and bid them farewell. I closed the huge wooden doors and walked down the steps. This was City Hall and the home of the late Emperor, Felnia's grandfather. It had practically been destroyed by the Watch and the people who lived inside while the city was dark, but with a bit of effort, a contractor named Jezon and his workers had restored it.

Felnia was staying in one of the finest rooms of the old Watchtower, at the top, with guards outside her room 24/7. In fact, guards stood at every place with people were and outside the broken gate to the city. We didn't want to take any risks because we all knew the Watch was furious with what we did. Tasceron was their biggest hub of industry and they lost it. Honestly, I hoped it made their Lord angry. I wanted them angry.

The sun was high above in the sky, making the air warm and comfortable. For the first time in a long time, I didn't know what to do. People were still working to get the towers into living conditions so there was constant motion, but I wasn't strong enough to do a lot of that. Then I wondered about Raffi. Even he had been working alongside everyone else.

I was a little confused about our affiliation. He agreed he would try to have a relationship with me, but I didn't want to push it by calling him my boyfriend. I didn't want to turn him off from me. I guess I was just afraid I would offend him somehow, although it was extremely unlikely. Still, I didn't want to do anything risky.

I sighed and rubbed my face with my hand. I suppose I should go see some of the women about preparing a meal for later. Tonight, Felnia would be crowned Empress and the little girl would never be more surprised.

:-:-:-:-:-:-:

"Can I look now, Ari?!" the child whined.

"Just a second. Raffi, could you open the door?" I stared at him. Raffi nodded and propped the large door open. I led Felnia in, my hand over her eyes so I was sure she wasn't peeking. "Okay…" I looked around one last time to make sure everything was in place, then I let go of her, "Now you can."

Felnia's bright brown eyes snapped open and she gazed around in awe. The room was brightly lit with candles and lanterns on the walls and there was a long table down the center of the room, littered with plates and bowls of food and goblets of drinks. Chairs lined both sides and at the opposite end, there was a tall elegant thrown. On the seat was a shining gold crown.

She screamed with delight and ran down the huge hall. She snatched the crown up and jumped into the thrown, placing the object on her head. It slanted to one side, messing up her brown hair; it was really far too big for her. She was smiling widely.

"This is amazing!" she yelled, bouncing up and down in her seat. I grinned and walked over, Raffi, Galen, Carys, and the Sekoi behind me.

"Glad you like it so much," I said.

"It really is. Jezon got all of this done today?"

"Yup. You all can go ahead and sit down. I'm going to go let everyone else in," I walked back to the grand doors and tugged one open. Outside stood everyone who had survived the battle. They were scarred, bandaged, and dirty, but they were happy. And tonight we were going to celebrate.

"You all can come in now!" I called over the massive crowd and propped both doors back. They people began to filter in, everyone taking a seat. I was a little surprised we had run out of chairs; some had to stand, but they didn't seem to mind. Mom sat beside me at the head of the table. The room was filled with laughter and cheers. Mom suddenly stood and called everyone's attention.

"Everyone, we are here now to celebrate the return of Tasceron to its former glory and we fully intend to make it better. I will try as hard as I can do make up for the lost time. Thank you all for assisting us. You are free to stay here as long as you please," she raised her glass, "To Tasceron!" Everyone applauded happily and raised their glasses up. I laughed and clinked my glass against Mom's.

We all talked for hours, well into the night. It was perfect. For once in Anara's existence everything was perfect. No one cared about what was happening outside of Tasceron. After we had finished eating, I tugged Raffi outside to stand on the steps together.

"What?" he said in confusion. I smirked.

"What, I can't have you to myself for a few minutes?" I teased. He smiled and edged forward to kiss me. I leaned up to meet him halfway then froze at the sound of a crossbow firing off.

"What was that?" he pulled away. I glared down the lanes that lead to the entrance.

"I don't know. Come on," I felt for the knife in my pocket and walked down the way. At the broken gates stood three people on horses. The guards who once stood guard there were splayed out on the ground, blood spilling out of their chests were bolts had gone in. Raffi and I froze.

"Watch!" I heard him hiss. I pulled my pocket knife out and flicked open the blade.

"Hey!" I snarled, "Get out of here! Now!" The one in the middle looked up and walked forward slowly.

"Ah, but where would the sense be in that, Little One?" the voice said. It was female, I noticed. Dimly, I could make the Watchwoman out. She wore a fine Watch uniform, made of different materials. It looked much more luxurious than a normal Watchman's. Her hair was jet black, glossy in the moonlight, tied back in a ponytail with a dark ribbon. Her eyes were black and cold.

"It doesn't necessarily have to make sense," I said.

"Oh, you learn fast! Good for you!" she exclaimed with the wave of a hand. I saw she wore far too much makeup and dark red lipstick. "So, are you going to use that pretty mind of yours and give me back what you stole from me?"

"Wow, you actually act like you deserve it!" I smirked. The woman frowned and swung out of the saddle. Her heels clicked against the pavement. I held the knife out in front of me and she put her hands up.

"I have no weapons, Baby. Do you want to kill an unarmed girl?" she said innocently. I just spat at her. She rolled her eyes and said, "I admire your determination. Really! I could use someone like you as, say…my subordinate? You would make a fine Watchwoman…" I crossed my arms and pretended to look interested.

"Yeah, let me think about that- No," I snapped.

"Fine, but you're turning down the offer of a lifetime here: to be Taura Harn's assistant," she shrugged. Raffi opened his mouth, but couldn't any anything.

"Harn?" I sputtered. She looked at me with a devious smile.

"Oh, my big sister never told you who captured her? Who took her hand? Shame… Well, yes, since you didn't know, your dear old friends, Raiden and Galen, are my siblings." One of the other Watchmen rode up beside her and handed her his crossbow. She shoved a bolt in the holster and aimed it at me. Raffi and I took a step back.

Taura said haughtily, "I have the entrance surrounded. Out there are over 100 Watchmen. Now, go and get your band, escort them out, and maybe I won't kill you all." I stood in front of Raffi, holding the knife ready.

"Fat chance," I said quietly. Taura just smiled again; I knew she was taking pleasure in this.

"Suit yourself then," she placed her finger on the trigger. Suddenly a burst of blue light shot over my head and slammed into Taura's chest. She yelped and dropped the crossbow. The horse neighed and bucked, throwing the woman off; she cried out as she hit the ground. Raffi and I turned quickly.

"That'll do, Taura," Galen spat harshly. Beside him was Raiden. Taura pulled herself up.

"I should have known. You always had a problem with minding your own business, Len," she grinned and dusted the scorched place of her uniform off.

"Don't call me that," Galen growled peevishly. Raiden chuckled a little and Galen turned to glare at her, "Who's side are you on?!" Raiden just laughed.

"She always knew how to irritate you. Apparently, she still does," she smiled and twirled a tight black curl of hair in her fingers.

"Well, not to the change the subject, but are you all going to be smart about this or do I have to bring in my forces?" Taura said, almost sounding annoyed.

"Go ahead. We have our own secret weapons," Galen said casually. Taura looked surprised, then bothered.

"What are you talking about?"

"Did anyone report to you seeing people with strange powers in the battle for Tasceron?"

"Well, yes, but…"

"It's true," I said suddenly, "I know the Watch don't believe in such things, but don't underestimate something just because you've never seen it. Plenty of your Watchmen could vouch for the fact they were attacked by someone with magical powers. Besides, Galen just shot you with a flare. You're pathetic if you still don't believe it." Taura glared at me.

"Stay out of this, Girlie," she hissed. I deadpanned.

"Yep, pathetic."

"Shut up!" Taura stomped her foot. I couldn't help smiling a bit; she looked like a child throwing a tantrum.

"What are you even doing now? Running errands for your Lord?" Galen crossed his arms. Taura turned to him.

"Oh no, something better," her black eyes narrowed, "I _am _the Lord." Galen stared for a moment, then shrugged.

"It's funny how things turn out like that. You're the Watchlord and your siblings are keepers," he said. Taura nodded.

"It is," she pulled herself up into the saddle; the horse nickered, "Well, I've changed my mind. I will not attack...for now. I will return another day and if you're still here, you'll all be sorry," she waved her hand and made the horse turn.

"When?" Raffi said without thinking. Taura looked over her shoulder, flashing a smile.

"I'll leave that as something for all of you to scare yourselves with. When will I attack? No one knows so when should you be ready? Hm, this should be interesting indeed… Good-night!" she snapped the reigns and the horse took off, disappearing into the dark field, back to the forest. I saw men rise out of the high grass; there really had been many Watchmen outside, waiting to kill us all. They followed after their leader.

"What now?" Raiden glanced over.

"We need to tell everyone. I hate to spoil their celebration, but they all need to be alert at all times. Come on. Nikki must know about this too," Galen urged.

:-:-:-:-:-:-:

"We're not strong enough! Not like this!" Mom was frantic, storming about the hall. Everyone had long cleared out and gone to their respective rooms somewhere in the other towers; now it was just me, Raffi, Raiden, Galen, Carys, the Sekoi, Spiral, and Mom.

"What are we going to do?" Raffi asked, tugging at his jacket fretfully. Mom leaned over the table, weak and tired already.

"I…I don't know. God, I don't know!" she muttered and stood back up, pacing around the long table again. She had already been around it at least 5 times.

"Mom, if you keep going in circles like that, you're going to wear a rut in the floor," I said quietly. Mom stopped and sat down quickly.

"Sorry," she whispered. Raffi suddenly looked up.

"Wait, what if we…no…that wouldn't work," he muttered, lowering his head.

"What?" Galen glared.

"N-Nothing, it's stupid."

"We'll take what we can get. Tell us," Mom reached across the table and took his hands, her eyes desperate. Raffi looked up nervously.

"W-Well, when we first met you and you were telling us about the Makers, you said Therris and Soren are still alive. What if we got help from them? Wouldn't they be able to do something?" Mom stared for a moment then shot up from the table.

"God, why didn't I think of that?" she turned to look at us all, suddenly ecstatic, then she stopped and looked away. "If I could definitely get Amelia's help; she wouldn't mind, but getting Emily's help may be harder… She hasn't exactly liked me since all of that happened."

"But, what about me? Would she listen to me?" I spoke up. Mom looked over at her.

"She might. She hates me for blowing up at her, but she doesn't hold anything against you," she nodded, "I think we should do this," she sighed and propped her forehead on her hands, staring down at the table.

"We can try," I looked out the new windows into the dark starry sky. The moon hung high above the rooftops of Tasceron. "After all, that's all anyone can ever do."


	10. Building

Rating: K+

Warnings: None

Pairings: Light RaffiXAri

Author's Notes: …yep. Sorry this took so long ,but I have NO motivation to do this at all.

I'm sorry if any of the information on DID and other medical stuff is incorrect. I mulled over the internet for about an hour, reading up on it all, but I'm no doctor so a lot of the medical terms were hard to comprehend.

Go listen to "Changeling" by AllLevelsAtOnce (on YouTube). Somehow it fits for this chapter. Maybe because it sounds very regal. Or something. :I I can imagine the very beginning playing when they go back to Anara. I think I'm going to list a song you should listen to for every chapter of my stories from now on.

Disclaimer: The Relic Master/Book of the Crow series legally belongs to Catherine Fisher. All OCs in this story belong to me.

:-:-:-:-:-:-:RAFFI'S P.O.V.:-:-:-:-:-:-:

"Yes, I'd like to make an appointment to see two of your patients," Nikki said into something she held. It was one of those relics that Ari had used to send her message to Paige; a phone, I learned. This one was a different color though. I could distantly hear another person talking through the object.

"God, Mom, patients? Where _are_ Aunt Amelia and Grandma?" Ari said irritably, but her mother waved her off.

"Oh, uh, Amelia and Emily Anara," she continued. Ari rolled her eyes. I fidgeted in the seat. "3 o' clock? Okay, yes, we'll be there," Nikki sat the phone down, "Our appointment is at 3. I suppose you both should get comfortable. We'll be here a while." I glanced up at the clock; Ari had taught me how to read them. It was harder than telling the time from the sun though.

"Now. Patients?" Ari asked. Nikki sighed and sat down.

"As I said before, Halen lost his mind due to mental illness. This is a sad trait he inherited from our mother. It's called dissociative identity disorder. Basically, Halen, while only physically being one person, mentally, he was many people. I remember he described 3 distinctively, although there may have been more: there was of course himself being the first, then a young boy, and an older man."

"How is that possible?" Ari stared.

"Maybe it was a possession instead of a disease?" I glanced up, confused, "I mean, how _is_ that possible; for there to be more than one person in a body naturally?"

"No, he wasn't possessed. We had he seen by a professional; he was definitely very sick. As for how it is possible, no one knows. It's just something you're born with; something that doesn't click in your mind. Anyway, back to what I saw saying, Halen inherited this from our mother. While Halen began having symptoms at a young age, which is rare, it took much longer for Emily's to surface. When she was, well, what she looked anyway, 30 or somewhere around there, she constantly complained that a girl kept waking her up in the middle of the night."

"However, this was not true. No one of us bothered her in night so we took her to a doctor and it turned out she was beginning to develop DID. We were worried it was escalate to the point where she would absolutely lose her mind like Halen, but she seemed to not fight with her other personality much. Usually the other personality or personalities act strangely. Depressed, aggressive, sad, any emotion is taken to an extreme. Her other personality, as far as I know, never told Emily her name, but she wasn't hostile."

"So Halen's other personalities were hostile?" Ari stood up and walked around, unable to sit still. I could practically see her thinking.

"The other man was. The boy was timid and frightened. Halen, well, was just Halen, but he just went mad over time. He couldn't take the pressure and torture of having someone hanging over you all the time, yelling at you," Nikki frowned, "Whoever that man was, he would supposedly beat Halen. We would find him in his room, curled up on the bed and crying, covered in bruises the other personality had inflicted, all using the same body."

"How strange," I glanced at my boots. Nikki nodded.

"Anyway, it became too much to care for Emily and give her the proper medicines she required so Tom and Adam put her in a nursing home. She was too distraught about losing Henry to care at that point."

"But, what about Aunt Amelia?" Ari walked over, "What about her?"

"Amelia and Emily were very close. They were sisters after all. Amelia didn't want Emily going into that home by herself so she faked the symptoms of dementia so she would qualify to live there too."

"That was brave of her," Ari smiled. Suddenly, I heard three loud knocks at the door. Ari blinked, stood up, and walked over. She was faced with Gale and Rachael.

"Ari!" Gale snarled, "Honestly, what are you hiding from us? Where do you keep disappearing off to?!" she raged and pushed into the house. Rachael stared and followed timidly. Ari sighed and looked at Nikki.

"Can I just tell them already? I don't like keeping secrets from my friends." Nikki sighed and nodded.

"Fine."

"Tell us what?" Rachael asked quietly. Ari grinned.

"Might as well sit down. This will take some explaining."

:-:-:-:-:-:-:

"You're kidding," Gale said after a long strained silence. Ari frowned.

"No, I'm not."

"Yes, you are. That's impossible," the raven-haired girl crossed her arms.

"Gale, come on-"

"Well, obviously my best friend is a raving lunatic," she hissed. Ari slammed her fist on the table, making everyone jump.

"Oh no, don't you even start that crap with me! 7 years, Gale! I've known you for 7 years and I've _never _lied to you! I don't plan to start now!" she growled before her friend had a chance to yell at her again. Gale looked taken aback, then frowned.

"Still…I can't believe this without proof. I don't believe in magic," she said finally. Ari turned to look at me.

"Raffi." I stared at her, surprised.

"Huh?"

"Do one of those light bubble thingies you do. That should be enough for Miss Non-Believer," she glared at Gale. I rolled my eyes and stood up.

"It's called the Second Action."

"Whatever. Just do one. Make the moons or something." Ari shrugged. I took a deep breath and let my third eye open. Bright in the dimly lit house, the lights started to form in front of me; the 7 swirling circles that slowly began to focus. I heard Gale and Rachael gasp. The small renditions of the moons circled each other; Pyra, Cyrax, and Agramon.

"That's…" Gale said, but never finished. Rachael reached out and gently touched one and it popped, making the girl jump back in alarm. I opened my eyes and each of the rest faded and disappeared. Ari looked smug, a smirk on her face.

"Well, is that enough for you?" she asked. Gale swallowed hard and nodded.

"You've got my attention," she said quietly. Rachael suddenly smiled.

"Can we come with you?!" she exclaimed. Ari blinked and smiled weakly.

"I don't know if that would be a good idea. I mean, we're about to go into battle with the Watch. I don't want you getting caught up in a fight and possibly being injured or killed."

"Oh, come on! We could help!"

"Rachael, shut up," Gale muttered. Rachael turned and stared at her angrily.

"Well…if you really want to. I wouldn't mind," Ari shrugged. Rachael smiled and Gale just sighed.

"I swear, of all the people in the world, why did I have to pick the two that were annoying and crazy?" she said mostly to herself. Everyone laughed.

:-:-:-:-:-:-:

Riding in the car was strange and somewhat intimidating. As embarrassing as it was to admit, Ari pretty much had to force me to get in it. The thing gave a giant roar when Nikki turned it on and it still rumbled even as we rode inside of it, but watching Ari's town fly by was worth it. The place was huge.

We stopped in front of a large brick building and Nikki got out. Ari had to help me with the seatbelt (all the while laughing). Inside was decorated with light colors and soft music played. Some people sat or walked around, talking to others. I glanced up at Ari.

"This is what a nursing home looks like?" I whispered. Ari smiled.

"It's supposed to be relaxing," she said and hurried after Nikki. Nikki had walked up to the front desk and was talking to the woman behind it.

"Alright, they'll be right out," she smiled and walked off. We stood and waited for a few minutes, then we were called back into a room. Before we entered though, I could hear two women arguing.

"But, I don't want to see them-!" one yelled only to be cut off by another.

"Well, too bad! I'm just glad she's finally coming to see us," the other said. Nikki walked into the small room; Ari and I went after her. Inside sat two women, both older than Nikki, but not by much. Or so it seemed.

"Hello, Nikki," the one on the left said cheerfully. She had pale brown hair with many lines of grey running through it. This was Soren. I gasped and her eyes shot to me, looking just as surprised. Then she turned on Nikki. "A keeper! What were you thinking?! Wait…you've been back to Anara?" she stared in disbelief. Nikki touched her hand.

"Please, Amelia, just let me explain," she said quickly.

"You can explain to _her_ all you want! I don't want to hear a word that comes out of your mouth!" the other woman, who I assumed was Emily, snapped. So this is Soren and Therris? Despite their age, I could feel the power bleeding off of them. It was somehow more powerful than Nikki's.

"I wasn't talking to you," Nikki hissed softly. Amelia grabbed her hand.

"What's going on?" she said seriously. Her niece turned to look at her in despair.

"I'm afraid we're about to go to war with someone on Anara. It'll be a fight to see who is more powerful. And right now-"

"Wait, since when do you care about Anara? You cut your ties a long time ago when all of that happened with Henry!" Amelia stared. Nikki gave a sweet smile.

"I suppose you can blame Ari for that," she moved back and Ari came to the front. Amelia's eyes widened and she stood up much easier than I than I thought she would have.

"Ariana?" she whispered quietly, "You're so beautiful." Ari grinned and hugged her.

"Thank you," she murmured and stepped back, looking at both of the older Alagraces, "but I'm afraid what Mom said is true. We're about to go to war," she stopped and sighed, "You remember the dragon?" Amelia and Emily stared in horror.

"What! That thing is still alive after all of these years?!" Emily yelled and Amelia grabbed her arm.

"Not so loud..."

"No, the dragon is dead, but it's creation is very much alive. It's called the Watch. They're murderous and will do anything to get what they want. We're about to fight their Lord, but we're not strong enough," Ari continued. Emily eyed her warily.

"What do you want then?" she asked.

"I want your help. To take back Anara once and for all," Ari said steadily. The older women exchanged a nervous glance.

"Well…I can't speak for my sister, but I will help you," Amelia said finally. Emily stared at her.

"Thank you," Ari whispered, then looked at Emily. The red-haired woman said nothing, looking between us all.

"I don't…know if I can…" she said softly. Ari touched her hand and made her looked up.

"Please. I'm confident we can do this," she said with a smile. Emily blinked, took a deep breath, and nodded.

"Thank you!" Ari jumped forward and hugged her. Emily sighed uneasily and hugged her back. Nikki put her hand on my shoulder and gave me a reassuring smile.

"But, we're stuck here. What can we do?" Amelia broke in.

"I can get you both out. Thank God Tom and Adam put me down on your documents so I can make changes," Nikki stepped out of the room. Amelia pointed at me, making me look.

"So, who's this boy? I can already tell he's a keeper." Ari stood back beside me and took my hand.

"This is my friend, Raffi," she said, more to me. I smiled at her. Emily crossed her arms and smirked.

"I sense something else there," she said quickly. Ari jumped, her face tinged pink. I just laughed and squeezed her hand.

"Yeah, I think there is something else there," I said. Ari grinned.

:-:-:-:-:-:-:

Everyone around turned to face us. Galen had been standing there, talking to the Sekoi when we came back. The light flashed, momentarily blinding everyone. Amelia and Emily stepped forward, with greater authority then what I had seen at the nursing home on Earth, and everyone knew. Many people got on one knee, bowing in front of them.

Amelia and Emily were a bit surprised to see them. They stood there in shock as nearly everyone dropped to the ground. Nikki walked up beside Amelia and raised her voice.

"I see you all already know, but this is my mother and aunt, Amelia and Emily. Or Soren and Therris," she said. Galen made the sign of respect and walked up. His voice was choked with emotion.

"It is a miracle to finally meet you both," he murmured. Amelia smiled and reached out, touching his hand; a small tendril of green and blue sparked between their fingers.

"Do not treat us like goddesses. The mighty have fallen since the last time they were here," she spoke quietly and took a step back. Galen glanced up at them and straightened.

"Amelia," Emily said suddenly, her voice shaky. Amelia turned and looked at her.

"Hm?"

"What is that?" the younger sister hissed and pointed at the other's back. Amelia, confused, looked over her shoulder. Long thin tendrils of sparkling energy dyed the end of her short brown hair and it was spreading.

"I don't know," she muttered and tried to dust it off. Small sparkles came off on her hand and spread up her arm.

"Grandma, it's happening to you too," Ari gasped. Emily's frantic green eyes shot down to her arms. The light was fast and rose to consume them both. Everyone stared, dazzled by the bright lights, then it broke apart and disappeared, leaving the two sisters standing there, much younger than before.

Amelia wore different clothes that glittered faintly; a long beautiful dress of blue. The hems moved in waves of foam and water, but it didn't appear to wet the grass beneath her. She wore a large necklace with a shell in the center and white gloves that came to her elbows. Rings adorned her fingers. Her grayish brown hair was longer, down to her waist and pulled back in a ponytail. I saw long strands of seaweed and small shells were braided into it, and a pale blue bow held it together.

Emily had a green dress that only covered one of her shoulders and had a long tail that flowed down the back. A beautiful belt of vines and flowers lined her waist and she wore gloves as well, light green ones. She wore fewer rings than Amelia, but she had several different gold necklaces and a cuff around her arm. Her hair was as long as Amelia's, bright orange with many leaves and flowers pinned in and held up with a green bow. On her head was an intricate golden tiara.

People gasped and murmured around the Square, then cheered with delight. The sparkling light returned in Emily's hand and in it formed a long clear sword that glimmered in the sun. She stared at it in astonishment and held it with both hands.

"I don't remember you ever having that," Amelia commented, her voice higher pitched than before. Emily frowned.

"I never did," then she turned and held it out to Ari, "You take it. I have no use for it." Nikki looked a bit offended, but stayed silent behind me. Ari took the object into her hands and stared at it; her reflection gleamed on its surface. She looked up at Emily and smiled.

"Thank you," she whispered and fitted it into the sheath on her belt. Nikki broke the following silence.

"We need to organize two groups. One to stay here and one," she looked at me as if to see my reaction, "to go to Maar. We will attack them before they attack us."


End file.
